#Soap comes pretty much as soon as Hush pushes into him

[ghouljams]

John "Soap" "Quick Shot" Mactavish who can't help coming as soon as your pretty pussy sinks down the length of his cock. He groans low in his throat, his cock twitching as he floods you with his spend. Swears this has never happened before, that you just felt too good, he's sensitive from being away so long, blah blah blah... as if it isn't more rewarding to lift up and start bouncing on his sensitive cock so that he's grabbing your hips and swearing through his next orgasm.

[credince--writes]

Background Check

NSFW.

Konig x Reader

141 becomes suspicious of König, Soap & Ghost are sent to find out why he rushes off so often. They find out why.

König wasn't stupid.

Anxious at times, yea.

Maybe a little fidgety, sure.

But he wasn't stupid.

He heard the whispers,

partially closed doors.

He knew they were suspicious of him.

Why else would he be soo keen to be taking off leave as much as possible?

Leave as soon as possible.

Get the fuck out of dodge.

His background.

Who he was.

Maybe they even suspected he was the rat.

He wasn't.

But he'd be damned if he let them get off scot-free.

They invaded his personal life.

Found his home.

Found his wife.

There was a reason he tried to keep his life as far away from work as possible. When the veil would be cast aside and he could bathe in the love of the woman he cared about.

He wasn't stupid.

Sometimes Soap was.

Is.

However, he'd like to phrase it in his mind.

Maybe he forgot how tall he was. That when he glanced over, figure looming over the other man, he was able to see the message sent out, tasking none other than Ghost and Soap to go out on a hush-hush recon to see who exactly this König man was.

What was he hiding?

He was hiding you.

...

It was always exciting for König to be coming home, even if it was only for a week.

But it was going to be a week that you'd have him all to yourself.

You'd gone grocery shopping, and you had a plan.

Not really a plan, it was more of a ritual.

He'd finally come back after however many days, and the two of you would hole up until you absolutely needed to go out and get something.

You lived in a pretty little cabin with big windows.

That was a must.

You loved to sit in your living room with the fireplace and stare out the huge windows that cascaded from floor to ceiling, staring out at the forest in front of you.

But the bathroom?

Oh it was heavenly.

König required much larger facilities, including a shower.

Not only that, but after you asked ever so nicely he got you a big tub as an anniversary present.

One big enough for the two of you.

You've lost count of how many times the two of you ended up relaxing in the tub together. The cold outside air encouraged each other into the arms of the other, tangled up into a mess of bodies. On other nights, the two of you would lay still, enjoying the relaxing heat and even seeing some wildlife prance across the dewy grass.

When he wasn't jabbering, he was a very quiet and observant man. You'd scolded him about it before, even with his large size he'd trained himself in stealth. His subconscious steps feather light giving him more and more opportunities to scare you out of your skin.

So any time he was in the room he'd step extra loud, or hum, or say something just to alert you of his presence before his arm would snake around your middle and pull you close.

Really, you appreciated it.

Maus, he'd call you. Gaining your attention as you'd turn your head over to give him a glance.

"Hm?" You'd ask, even if you recognized that tone in his voice, you wouldn't acknowledge it.

You'd make him work for it.

He knew you liked to play hard to get.

That was part of the fun, wasn't it?

Once he called you back into the living area, to climb onto the large couch and to climb under the blanket with him would he start lowering his head down, kissing everywhere on your upper body but your lips.

Whining in irritation- frustration maybe? Were they not the same thing? You had grabbed ahold of his hand, bringing one of his large fingers up to push against your plush lips as you flicked your tongue out, licking up the base of it and sucking it into your mouth.

Groaning, his head would fall back against the couch.

You'd never tell him how much you loved to look up at his face like this, it would embarrass him to no end- loving something he was so insecure over. From this angle you could see perfectly just the little twist in his nose- off to the side. No doubt broken in combat, but it just added that extra flair that made König who he was.

Yours.

Pulling his finger from your mouth, he'd trail it down your top, trying to slip it under the band of your sweatpants and into your core.

Stopping him, you guided his wrist up and over his head, leaning up and grabbing his other arm that was lazily draped onto the couch and pining his arms above his head.

You'd never really be able to hold him down, you both knew that. But there was something specifically grounding of feeling both of your small hands wrapped around his wrists, pushing him down into the soft cushion of the sofa.

Letting go of his hands, you shimmied backward and pulled your sweats down, leaving yourself only in your panties as you there a leg over his chest and ever so slightly rubbed your clothes heat against the rippling expanse of his torso.

His hands left their post, above his head on the couch to grab your thighs and pull you closer to him, mouth opening and exhaling harshly as his mouth cupped over the expanse of your clothed cunt.

"Did I say you could yet?" You scolded lightly, and he shook his head in response.

His hands let up, allowing you to slide backward off of his chin and back onto his chest, hands lacing in with his as you leaned forward.

"How bad do you want it?" You asked grin plastered on your features.

"So bad, Maus." He exhaled out, eyes dilated as he looked up at your face, tinted pink with arousal.

"That's not very convincing." You pouted.

"Then let me convince you." He groaned, hands unlacing from yours grabbing you by the ass and pushing you forward, a long finger hooking your panties to the side as he pulled you up to sit on his face.

He groaned when his tongue came into contact, licking and sucking- biting on the side of your thighs until you thought you were going to melt into the floor, turning into a puddle to be mopped up later.

His arm shot up, slipping under your shirt until his hand poked through the neckline where his hand opened and deliciously wrapped around your neck.

He didn't squeeze, he just allowed you to rest your body weight into it, and additional support to your body sitting straight up and onto his face. Whenever you'd lean forward trying to escape his grasp, his hand around your throat would apply just enough pressure to make the surroundings feel fuzzy.

Ebbing on that feeling of pleasure drunkening your mind.

It was intoxicating really, the long laps of his tongue eating as if he were a man starved, deprived of it all until he was borderline insane. Devouring as if he'd never eat again.

Rocking your hips back and forth, finding that perfect rhythm where your thighs would tense up, pushing into his ears and squeezing his head together as if you were trying to pop it.

It was wet,

sloppy,

foul sounding even.

You were glad you had no neighbors.

You can't imagine having to bare the walk of shame from bringing up groceries with the man tailing behind you to your flat, old woman down the hall peeking out the door to find the mountain of a man who was the cause of the filthy moans and curses late into the night.

Your body shook, stuttering in place and trying to push off your knees to relieve the pressure from his tongue on your clit. His fingers dug into your neck, pulling your body back down onto his mouth as he picked up the pace, throwing you right over the edge into overstimulation.

"Hah- Please- fuck... Too much!" You whined out, hand gripping his hair and tugging his head to the side.

His mouth detached from your pussy with a wet sucking sound, making that fluttering feeling inside you spur off into a frenzy.

He let out a snicker, lip curling up to show that deathly sharp canine he found too much joy in biting down onto the soft parts of your body.

"But Shatz, you taste so good." He said, letting go of your neck and pulling you down to lay on him.

"Hmmm." you replied, setting your head in the crook of his neck.

You glanced at him, and saw him staring out the window, deep into the dark forest.

"What's wrong?" You asked, looking at him for any hint of concern in his gaze.

"Ah. Not anything to worry of Shatz."

You'd take his word for it.

The two of you would lay there for some time, listening to the sounds of each other breathing while the background noise of a movie filled the room.

"Mm.. Let's take a bath..." You leaned forward, whispering into his ear before biting the edge of it ever so lightly. Just enough in the way you knew if drove him mad.

He laughed.

One of those downright evil,

scheming laughs.

The one that made your cunt tighten because you knew just how much you were in for it.

He stood, arms wrapping under your bottom and pulling you up with him as he made quick strides to the glass door that led out onto the back patio that had the large tub. Setting you down next to the tub and quickly starting to tug off any remaining clothing that you had clug to your body.

"Wait- slow down a little." You laughed out softly, reaching a hand up and cupping his jaw stilling his movements. "What's got you all riled up sweetheart?"

"I want you to be loud, Shatz." He leaned in, whispering into your ear.

"Yea? Why's what?" You smiled up at him, kissing the bottom of his chin.

"I want you to tell the world your mine with those sweet little noises you make."

You laughed lightly- nervously, but it died in your throat as you stared up at him.

There was a dark glint in his eyes, the one that barely lingers when he's first walking through the door.

It was feral.

It was pretty hot.

He turned, leaving you for a moment to be surrounded by the cold air of the night. No longer having the body heat he projected everywhere he went filling your space.

You'd protest, but the sound of the knob to the bath turning and the unmistakable sound of water pouring into the tub created white noise.

You turned to him, sucking on your teeth as you grabbed a bottle full of scented soap, pouring it into the cascading water and watching as bubbles started to form in the tub.

Reaching out to him, you grabbed at the hem of his pants, tugging on them. He snickered slightly grabbing the belt and undoing it, then pushing his pants and boxers to the floor.

He stepped into the bath, sitting on the back ledge where various candles and glass containers held salts, soups, lotions, and other various collections of your own you'd use.

His thighs flexed and he stared you down with a hungry, dark look. You could feel heat rising to your cheeks as you stepped into the bath, kneeling down as the water continued to fill around you. Leaning forward, you placed a hand on his thigh and continued to bring your face closer to his crotch. Grabbing hold of his cock, hand wrapping around the girth of it as you enjoyed its weight in your hand.

You loved the outdoor tub, you'd sit out here some nights, staring out into the forest. One night a doe had even pranced it way through the lawn while you sat and soaked.

It was bliss.

You flicked your tongue out, collecting the shiny clear bead of precum dribbled from the tip of his cock, licking it up and savoring the salty taste on your tongue.

"Stop teasing, Schatz." He said, hand placing on your shoulder.

It was a warning.

You looked up at him, giving your best innocent doe eyes as you took the head of his cock into your mouth, sucking and flicking your tongue around the head.

He grumbled something, tossing his head back as his muscles flexed. Hand on your shoulder creeping into your hair as you started to bob your head on his cock.

You could feel his cock brush the back of your throat, slightly adjusting your head to continue to take him further, down until you could feel the brush of his hair against your nose.

"So good to me." He praised, a finger brushing against your hollowed-out cheeks as you continued to take his length down your throat.

Eventually, pulling back and let out a gasp as a long string of thickened saliva bridged from your mouth to the head of his cock.

"Did I say stop?" He asked lightly.

"It's gonna overflow." You laughed, turning around and shutting off the faucet. The look on his face proved your point of him forgetting about the hot running water behind you- tub dangerously close to the edge.

He leaned forward, dipping his lower body into the water until he was sat up to his chest, nipples hovering over the steamy water.

Pushing forward, you climbed into his lap and pushed your chest to his, connecting mouths and sighing into each other, hands slowly exploring and enjoying as the hot water melted away the day's tensions.

He pulled your back onto his chest, snaking a hand around your tummy and dipping it down into your core, a large finger breaching your hole and pumping into you with his thumb teasing your clit while his second hand toyed with your tits.

Your back arched onto his chest, a moan escaping your lips as he continued his onslaught of toying and teasing for what felt like an eternity.

"Fuck me- Stop teasing me." You whined hand grabbing his wrist close to your cunt and giving it a squeeze.

"You want me to fuck you, Schatz?"

"Yes." You moaned.

"Fill my pretty wife full of cum?" He leaned forward, shifting your position as the water sloshed, throwing gallons over the edge.

"Please." You whined.

His hand left your tit and reached up to your jaw, hand easily covering the expanse of it and ring finger reaching up and pulling your mouth wide open. His finger pushed down on your tongue, causing your head to pull down as you felt him move behind you.

Your only retaliation?

Wiggling your hips.

He grunted, bringing a hand down and harshly slapping it on your ass leaving a large red handprint embellishing your skin. He lifted a knee, planting his foot beside you and he trusted upward, pushing his cock into your core.

With his finger forcing your mouth open, the mouth that would normally be reserved, held in by your lips to live in your throat came out breaking the white noise of sloshing water and his pants.

"Braves Mädchen." He praises, snapping his hips forward sending more water sloshing forward.

Keeping his hand in your mouth, a hand slithered down and brushed against your clit as his pace picked up, sending you up and above the clouds, looking down upon the scene as if you were an angel.

You moaned again, whatever words spilling from your mouth coming out messy and in no way understandable. You could feel your walls fluttering with the combined attention on your clit and the oh-so-filling stretch of his cock in your tight cunt.

You choke out a whine and he lifts your hips, pressing himself impossibly deeper into you and he continues his ruthless onslaught.

You could feel a flutter in your gut, the tight cord pulled it its limit.

"Going to cum, Shatz?" He sneered out, that ruthless, demeaning tone as he pressed exceptionally hard against your clit with his rough calloused finger.

You could only whine in response as the motions set in action came to a head all at once.

It was as if white stars danced into your vision, everything in your body seized, tightening while he continued to fuck into you, up until you could feel his hips stutter, that bruisingly strong grip on your hip that you knew would leave little fingerprint bruises in the morning.

His hand left your jaw, turning you around and pulling you close to his chest.

"Ich liebe dich." He mumbled into your hair.

"Ich liebe dich mehr." You replied to him, clinging to his chilled skin as the two of you sunk back down into the heavily depleted water.

He had helped you from the bath, grabbed you a towel, and carried you inside, setting you down on your bed while he walked out to collect his things and drain the tub.

He wouldn't normally clean up, no. But this time he wanted to make sure to emphasize what he wanted to say.

Pulling the band of his sweatpants as his bare feet came into contact with the cold wet wood of the back deck, looking out into the thicket of trees and brush he saw the glint of glass.

A scope.

He grinned, one of the sick, wicked grins no one would see with the veil covering his face on the battlefield. He wasn't scared, he knew exactly who was out there.

If they wanted to know why he rushed home so badly, he'd let them know.

"Hoffe es hat euch gefallen!" He called out.

[binniesthighs]

[01:53]

nsfw. seo changbin. fem reader. soft sex. strings attached. 2.2k

✨ you've got mail! read below! ✨

wet hair dripping; just enough to send a slight shiver down every bone in your spine. smooth skin crinkles with the bedsheets just washed and your skin still dewy from the droplets that remain. under your head his hand snakes to cradle the back of your neck pulling you deeper into him.

the rest of your body caves at his touch tracing down your stomach to pull aside the robe which has untied itself around your waist. his fingertips tickle with his touch gentle enough to make you feel as if he fears he could break you. your bare and vulnerable form quivers for him as he presses his weight down upon you with a chest swelling with pink heat.

with him you bare everything: every single part of yourself you hide to yourself only for your own eyes to see. you share yourself with him now, taking immediate notice to how the way his eyes dredge over your body as if the very sight of you can satiate him. he grins, running his hand up and down your side threatening to tickle the goosebumps he creates himself.

your hands wrap their way around his back which stretches wide and fleshy, squishy even where his muscles tense and twist dipping his body over yours. his elbows dig deep into the mattress leading up to his hands which find the sides of your cheeks and caress into them as soft as seafoam. he smells of the scent which you keep trapped in your bed, and absorb into your own clothes to take in every bit of his comfort.

his lips attach with yours lightly at first, brushing over the space where you bite in your nervousness, but he doesn't even notice. he traces careful shapes into your mouth which feels too raw to be anything that you could never experience. the skin on skin of him becoming one with you like this is your safe place. a tiny grin forms between his lips as he presses deeply into your parted lips, teasing the warmth from his tongue against your bottom lip.

hips grind down harder, and press you into the bed where you feel a quick friction between your bare hips and his. his skin smells of the water caught up in sudsy soap that had existed on him only moments ago. you gasp, now realizing that it's the heat from his hardened member which presses into your folds teased open by your restless legs.

you gasp into his mouth, only for him to suck your breath right back into his own lungs. "bin--" you whimper, for him to feel the vibrations of his own name upon his lip.

"you want to do this?" he hushes between each careful kiss from him to you.

"yes." you agree, hands finding their way now to the sides of his face to rub over each and every curve, including the scar lined right under his chin.

changbin leads his way down your jaw, sucking harder as he trails to your neck and the soft parts to your nape. he nibbles, pursing his lips so that your sensitivity can feel every ounce of his attention. the soft wet of his kisses hits the air in the room, and your body cools from the shower. your hips buckle upward to beg him for more.

"impatient?" he tsks, "aww, baby..." he coos his words as if he wants to scold you, but you know he never could when its like this.

you're starved of him, starved from not being this close for so long, starved after life got in the way of you and him. being close with him as such, feeling the way that he loves you beyond words has been something you hadn't felt ever since life got more complicated.

you knew though he would always wait for you.

changbin takes the hint, kissing a couple last kisses directly into your neck while wrapping his arms around your back.

"i'm assuming that you want to be on top first?" he smirks; the same little sideways grin that makes you feel like you're beautifully melting from the inside.

you look up to him where his dark hair falls over his forehead. "mm, you know me so well."

the both of you switch positions, giving you all the space to do as you please to your boyfriend waiting patiently and gleefully under your touch.

"it's been a while." you begin, imitating the same kisses that he gave to you before. you paint them onto his chest, his neck, his collarbones, and waterfall then down his stomach as his sides twitch. his chest takes in each of his inhales deeply, allowing you to feel the influence that you now have over his body. his teeth bite as his lip after his eyes wander to your nails digging after each kiss you plant.

"god--feels so fucking good, angel." he laughs out with an air.

"i haven't even started yet?" you tease finally reaching down to his pelvis.

"just watching you...it's enough for me..." changbin throws his head back, partially to hide his obvious grin, but also to steady himself once you begin.

at first, you squeeze, giving his cock the pleasure that you know that he craves. from the single action alone his tip beats with the stringy pre-cum eager enough to drip to your hand. his thighs shake, and soon you feel his grip dig into your shoulder.

"look me baby." he asks, pulling you by the chin. he basks in you and how unreal you look just like this for him, and no one else. his hand falls, not able to wait a second longer.

your lips loosely part around his heart-shaped tip, letting your salvia mix with his own excitement and swirl on your tongue. you know he doesn't mind it sloppier, choosing to grant him the gift of hearing each and every one of your kisses to his head while running your hand down his shaft. every vein throbbing there bumps against your palm, prompting you to squeeze even harder. when it comes to him, you never have to be careful about being gentle.

deeper you let your mouth take him in, eyes rolling at the way that your throat feels tight around him and your tongue compressed. its a somewhat of a comfortable feeling, this. you take him all the way down, swallowing and pushing until your eyes water just slightly. you gasp, seeking air afterwards, and sinfully soaking up the way that he looks at you astonished.

"you want more, baby?" you ask while still pumping him up and down.

"please." he begs with legs shaking even harder, "anything you want to do angel, do it."

you nod, sucking in a breath to continue, settling into a rhythm finding what's comfortable to you, stopping every few moments to feel the way that you can make him bulge your neck. the slick of your spit wets him entirely and fills him to the brim with euphoria and each of those tiny gasps that you practically hear in your dreams.

"baby--you've got me...so, so close..." changbin breathlessly gasps with a bit of a loose smile as he tries his best to keep himself together.

you stop, knowing the exact cue. "so you're saying...?"

his chest, red with his pent up frustration flinches, and he sits up on his forearms. "...that if you'll let me, I'd like to fuck you now?" changbin's expression darkens, eyes hooded and focused, and nearly intimidating enough to make you feel small.

"oh?" you dip your lips into his neck to kiss your answer there, "and if i say yes?"

before you can say much more, his arms wrap their way around you again, guiding you to your back and the comfort of the cushion. he parts your legs, revealing your glistening pussy that's dripped to the inside of your thighs. he leans, taking his index and ring finger to slide between your walls that tighten around his stimulations. your back arches now too, and the chill leaves you--replacing itself with something much hotter that even feels like too much to bear with the thin robe.

changbin curls his fingers within you, pressing at your g-spot and then positioning to sweep his thumb over your clit, sending shock waves all through your body and through every limb.

"you like it like that?" his voice asks with a bit of a growl to it. "like it when if fuck your pussy in deep with my fingers?" he tilts his head in his sympathy, "it's not even my dick fucking this pretty pussy of yours and you're already such a gorgeous mess for me, aren't you angel?"

you nod, knowing that words wouldn't possibly be formed by your lips at the moment.

he removes his fingers slowly, careful to watch the way that you shudder from feeling the moss of contact. he greedily twists his fingers together, watching the way that your slick pulls clear between them. he pauses, making sure that he's got your attention through your light-headed gasps. one by one, he holds your eyes while pressing his fingers against his tongue to suck them clean.

"b-bin..." your voice wavers, as he finishes off with that same damned smirk. he moves over you like a shadow, pressing his chest into yours while giving you a taste of your own arousal on his tongue where both of your lips meet in the heady ecstacy of it all.

changbin aligns his hips over you perfectly, using a firm grip to push one of your legs higher and press into your torso. water droplets form in his hair from a trick of gravity, and drip onto you in cold beads just enough to soothe your burning chest. he teases his tip at first to your clit throbbing for attention, then moves lower, pushing in as both of you sigh out at the intimacy of how full he fills you.

your teeth grit feeling him bottom out and reach as deeply within you as possible, then he starts to thrust, slow at first--just so you can feel every inch of his length and the way that he can use it. moans shake up your chest and come hazily between your lips, then onto his when he goes to feel them on his own while picking up his pace.

your toes point feeling him work himself up even more hurriedly, and his breaths shake with the gruff of his groans tied along with them as he loses himself in your connection. changbin pushes our leg even closer to your body: tightening your hole around himself even greater, and sending delightful little whines from his throat.

you lose yourself in the rhythm of him, mind now blank except for how utterly close you feel to him, how vulnerable and malleable, how unscrewed but whole. he meets your eyes, never stopping, and within him you see everything that you love, and that you know that you always will.

your hands weave behind his neck, bringing him into a kiss that speaks fathoms more than you could never tell him out loud. you explore each and every part of him here where your lips kiss away and pull at his plump lower lip.

it builds within you, threatening and even a little terrifying: edging your whole body to the precipice of an orgasm made by him, and heightened by the way his head grazes you deeply and gives your own thighs a turn to shake helplessly. it all feels so otherworldly you know that you could never put it to words.

the wet of your pussy slicks around his length, and he exhales out your name before collapsing as close to you as he can get, repeating, "so fucking good for me baby, so fucking good."

the pressure builds behind your clit, just about to explode when you feel his own cum thickly pulsate within you and his heady gasps echo. he fucks it into you, still not pausing even when he overstimulates himself between your walls. he moans out beautifully as his form shakes over yours, the last of his thrusts still strongly coaxing your orgasm from you and right to him latching yourself to him in the most primal sense--with the arch of your back and the crescents that you decorate into his shoulder blades with your nails, the electric delight spreads over your whole being, leaving your open mouthed gasps directly into his skin soft and clean.

you shake with him, unmoving and entangled. by now, the wet has seeped into the bed, but it still feels just as comforting as it had done before. his arms tremble too when he rises to look at you in your afterglow. he too looks even softer somehow, and even more adoring.

"i think..." he pants slightly, "this is the point where i tell you how much i love you? and how i could do this with you for the rest of my life?"

"i think so." you beam, ruffling up his dark strands. "and this is the point where i say i'd do the exact same."

"forgetting something?" he sighs in content, planting a kiss on your forehead.

"you already know how much i love you."

~🌹~

Bunch of (Ro)ses!

@minaamhh @dazzlehoseok @synnocence @jjewibeans @hyunsluvv @unexceptional-h @bobawithchaitea @lechanters @sailorhyunjinz @silencefavarchive @lunarskzzz @yourdaddychan @bubblelixie @spnobsessedmemes @iwanttobangchan @bowlofblueberries @lmhmins @eunaeiekim

[chokemeanakin]

Heyyy first wanna say that I love you!! 💜❤️🤎🧡💙🤍💚🖤

Next, I’ve been really sick lately, like haven’t been bail to take down food for a solid week, and in and out of hospital for the last two weeks, so could you please write up an Anakin small fic or head canon or just anything with a really sick reader, but she finds it hard to exsept help? Your fives have been keep me alive I swear haha

Okay LOVE YOU💖💖

YOOO IVE BEEN WANTING TO DO THIS FOR WEEEEEEKKKSSS you literally read my mind !!! 😆😆😆 (also I’m so sorry that you’re terribly sick, I’m sending you all my love and I hope you get better soon. I love you too boo thang ❤️) HERE WE GO:

(Also fun fact whump is my area of expertise so if this gets to be really long I apologize — it’s just hard for me to narrow stuff down, anyway, enjoy)

Anakin x Sick (fem) Reader Headcanons:

Gif from @swprequels

The minute you get sick, you immediately shut yourself into your room and hide from the world.

You hate people seeing you at your worst, most vulnerable state. So weak, and needy, and messy and in pain. You’ve always been the type to push people away, no matter how sick you get, because you just can’t let them see you like that.

But like.... imagine you’re new to the temple or something. You haven’t been there for very long, and you still don’t really know your way around. And you wake up at night with the worst stomach pains, like writhing around in bed and crying and begging higher powers for any kind of relief sort of pain.

And you somehow manage to wrench yourself onto shaking legs and dig through the bathroom cabinet, only to find that you have no medicine that can help you.

The next logical step is you go to the medbay, but you have no idea where that even is. And so you’re left to drag yourself down the halls to the only other person who you can think of to help you, the only other other person you want to see right now.

Anakin opens the door shirtless, rubbing sleep out of his bleary eyes. You wish you could feel worse for waking him up when he was obviously sleeping, but your stomach is twisting and turning and a layer of cold sweat is forming over you and you need his help. So you swallow your pride and stand there as he asks, “Y/n? What’s wrong, baby?”

He doesn’t hesitate as he gently ushers you into his room, holding you up as he leads you to the bed. You’re glad, because you don’t think your legs can hold you up for very much longer. And he’s kneeling in front of you, taking your face in his hands and wiping away your tears as you clutch at your stomach and tremble beneath him.

“I-I don’t feel good,” is all you can manage before wincing at a particularly painful stab, shuttering as the nausea worsens.

He’s so worried, eyes scanning over every inch of you. He’s less soft now, and more action as protecting you and figuring out what’s wrong is his first priority.

“What hurts?”

Everything hurts, but you settle with the most pressing offender. “My stomach.”

His eyes drop to your arms, which are wound around your middle like you could squeeze the pain away. You’re hunched over, shivering violetently, skin pale in the darkness. Very obviously sick, although now he has to decide whether it’s bad enough where it warrants a visit to the medbay. His heart twists painfully.

“When did it start?”

“A couple hours ago.”

“Did you eat something?”

He’s rubbing his thumb along your cheek, capturing each cold tear as they’re occasionally squeezed out of your eye.

“Not that I know of,” you whisper. “I had the same as everyone else.”

“Okay,” he says after a moment, then stands. He keeps one hand gently cradling your face as he reaches behind you and pulls the blankets back. “You wanna lie down?”

You want to say yes, but suddenly you’re hit with a particularly excruciating twist of the stomach, and you know it wouldn’t be a good idea. If you move even slightly, you’re pretty certain you’ll be spilling your dinner all over the floor. The thought has you moaning slightly, curled even further into yourself, shaking your head. “Can’t.”

“Alright. That’s okay. Do you think you’re gonna be sick?”

A terrible wave of embarrassment washes over you, but you force yourself to nod.

Anakin doesn’t even have to ask to know that you won’t be able to make it the bathroom. He wouldn’t want to subject that to you anyway, knelt on the cold tile floor before the toilet. No, he wants you to be as comfortable as possible.

So he takes his garbage can and makes sure it’s clean before setting it on the floor or in front of you, in case you need it quickly. You’re hanging your head, sweating and shivering and whimpering every so often as the pain builds and builds and washes over you in waves.

“It’s okay,” Anakin sits beside you, hand rubbing your back in grounding circles. “Focus on your breathing. It’ll pass soon.”

You stay there with him like that for a long while. At one point, you’re begging him for some pain meds, or anything that can take the pain away, but he has to refuse because you’re just going to throw them up anyway. He feels awful saying no, because you begin to cry again and lean forward.

He senses it right before it happens. With lightning reflexes, he snatches the bin off the ground and holds it under you just as you begin to get violently sick.

It’s not pretty, and that thought is knocking at the back of your mind as you clutch onto the rim of the bin, emptying your stomach over and over and over, barely able to catch a breath before you’re hit with another round.

Anakin sits right next to you through it all, dragging his fingers along the nape of your neck to gather your hair over one shoulder, rubbing soothing line and circles into your back, hushing you and telling you to let it out, that you’ll feel better once it’s over.

He’s right about that. Throwing up scares you, and you hate it with everything in you, but for the time being you feel a little better. Once your food stops forcing its way back up and you can finally breathe, there’s a moment where the awful stabbing pain in your stomach is quiet and you can open your eyes and lift your head.

“You think you’re done?”

You take a moment to assess your nausea, not wanting to be hit with a surprise attack and make a mess all over the floor. But for the time being, your stomach has settled and now you’re left as a trembling, weak, shell of a human, barely able to sit upright on your own.

You nod and wipe your mouth, disgusted with the contents now on the back of your hand. Your pajamas have been soaked in sweat, and you’re sure you look absolutely disgusting. You’re too weak to care a whole lot, but the shame still bubbles up in your chest.

Somehow he’s got a glass of water, and he’s handing it to you so you can swish and spit. “Small sips, angel.”

Anakin sets the bin down, running his hand over your hair once more before standing. The loss of his warm presence has you shivering violently, teeth clacking together. “You want a bath? Or do you just want to go to bed?”

You don’t think you’d be able to sleep with your clothes stocking to you like this, so you choose the bath. He kisses your forehead once, saying, “I’ll go run it now. Stay here in case you get sick again.”

You nod and he leaves, the sounds of the faucet turning and water splashing into the bath sounding from the bathroom. He comes back to help you up, hands fitting right onto your disgusting sweaty and vomitty body as he half carries you to the bathroom.

And then he helps you get undressed, lowers you carefully into the water, kneels by the side of the tub and holds your hand.

Your eyes are closed and your head is pounding, achey and queasy and tired. You know you have to wash up, but you can’t seem to lift your arms.

So he does it for you 🥺

Squeezing some shampoo into his palm, gently rubbing it into your hair, using his hand to shield your face as he carefully washes it out. Running his hands over your arms and the top of you chest with soap, lathering you up and then rinsing again. And then he’s squeezing water out of a cloth, running the damp material over your face to clean it of sweat and sick.

And when he’s done, he stands and promises to be right back as he takes the bin full of vomit to the communal bathrooms, dumping it out in the toilet and then washing it in the showers. It’s early hours of the morning so no one is there, but he’d do it even if people were looking at him like he was crazy. 🥺

And when he comes back, he helps you out of the bath and bundles you up in a big fluffy towel. Runs it over your skin and dries you up, and helps you stand as you request to brush your teeth.

And then he brings you back into the room and helps you dress in some of his clothes, a pair of his sleep pants that he has to tie the string extra tight so they’ll stay up, and roll the cuffs up to your ankle about 10 times until you can walk without tripping. And he’s also got some sleep shirts that he’s never worn, and you swim in that also so he rolls up the sleeves until you can see your hands.

And now all you want to do is fall back into his pillows and go to sleep, but he asks you to hold on a while longer so that he can get you some meds. And he has you take some pills, encourages you to drink some more water, (“slow, baby”), and then he helps you lie back and get comfortable.

And if you wake up later in the night to get sick again, he’s waking up right along with you, holding you and hushing you and being the sweetest person you could ever ask for.

In instances like this, you can’t help but need and accept his help. And he doesn’t mind giving it, in fact he wants you to come to him. Anything that brings you pain, he’ll destroy.

And he’ll make sure you eat as much as you can, and that you’re drinking water. Constantly asking you how you feel, if there’s anything he can do. Runs a cold cloth over your face to soothe the fever, and massages your aching muscles until you’re all better.

The voice he uses when you’re sick 🥺. He knows that any noise can hurt your head, so he lowers his voice and it’s so smooth and deep and rumbly. So soft and gentle 😭 the sweetest voice bc his baby is in pain and he just wants to take it all away 🥺🥺

In other cases where you’re sick, like you have a cold, you’re more stubborn. You shut yourself away as soon as you get the first symptoms, denying any hint that you might be getting sick, until suddenly he realizes he hasn’t seen you in days and stops by to find you buried under covers, surrounded by tissues, all lights off in your apartment, sleeping fitfully.

And so he’ll sigh a little, clean up your apartment and then sit and watch over you. When you wake up, you’ll groan and burrow deeper into the covers and demand he leave. But he’ll just tell you to be quiet and drink this water.

Demands you tell him the moment you feel sick next time, even though he knows you never will. And then when he gets you some medicine and food, your cheeks are red with embarrassment and fever as you bashfully accept them.

But ofc you’ll get over it soon because Anakin’s here now and you might as well be miserable in his arms. So you push the covers off your overheating body and reach across the bed for him, practically falling into his lap from where he’s sitting on a chair by your bedside.

And he just simply catches you and strokes your hair and hushes you as you bury your wet eyes and flushed cheeks into his chest, sniffling pathetically.

“You’re okay, sweetheart,” he’ll promise, and hold you in his warm arms and rock you until you fall asleep.

Getting sick on Republic Cruisers is the worst. When that happens, you’re either on your way to or back from war. And so usually people are busy and running around, or exhausted and beat up. The ship is cold and everyone has their own problems to worry about, but you feel like ass and you just want to be alone with Anakin.

He feels awful when he sees you, and will order everyone out of the pilot’s room. And then he’ll clear the passenger seat off, urge you to sit down, wrap you up in as many blankets as he can find, and when he can only find a couple, he’ll sacrifice his Jedi robe. And you’ll nuzzle deep down into the cacoon of blankets and inhale the scent of Anakin’s robe, fall in and out of consciousness as you’re lulled to sleep by the soft sounds of the ship.

Anakin wishes there was more he could do for you in these instances, but the food isn’t good and there’s not usually any medicine. So he’ll keep a hand on your knee, or let you hold his hand in your lap as you sleep, and he’ll send a little surge of peace and soothing energy through the force and into you.

Will 100% find an excuse to carry you off the ship when you land, and then spend the rest of the day lying with you and tending to you and trying to make you feel better 🥺

He’s so caring and so protective and sweet. His gentle side really comes out, because his #1 thing is that he needs the people he loves to be safe, so if an illness is hurting you he will do anything he can to take the pain away.

Yes, he can’t take care of himself sometimes. But the minute you’re feeling a little under the weather, suddenly he has a PHD in medical science and he’s nursing you back to health like an expert 🥺

Also he’ll never deny you kisses when you’re sick, even if you warn him he might catch it, he just hushes you and kisses you softly on the lips. Then on the chin, then the nose, then the forehead.

Will always brush off your inability to accept help. If you say “no” or “leave me alone” or “I’m fine go away” he’ll just roll his eyes and plant himself there. Bc no matter how stubborn you can be, he’s even more.

And when you keep apologizing, obviously feeling awful for having him take care of you, he’ll just hush your worries and hold a tissue to your nose and go “blow.”

And then he’ll stay with you and watch over you until you’re all better. And even when you get back into the swing of things, he’ll watch over you like a hawk while you’re recovering 🥺🥺

You might get shy and ashamed and embarrassed when he tries to help you, but he doesn’t mind. You’ll just have to come to accept the fact that he’s always going to be there for you, to help you and hold you and make you all better ❤️

Sweet boy is so good to you 🥺🥺🥰

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[aenngelic]

I will protect her at all costs (chapter 2)

Disclaimer: please don’t hate me for it, if you don’t ship them please just don’t read it ok 🥲

contains: slow burn, Sniper falling in love with Kuon, Snipers view/thoughts, sexual fantasies, nudity, lemon stuff overall

It is a very long chapter I’m sorry

Note: please feel free to message me if you have certain romantic moments to include in the story! (Already running out of ideas oops)

It did not take long for us to find a bag of supplies. It was on a coffee table in some sort of lobby area. It seemed as if this building probably was meant to represent some kind of hotel, which I thought was a good thing, because that meant that there would be beds and showers to be found here as well. To our surprise, the bag contained mostly candy, which I wouldn't interpret as a balanced meal. However, the girl seemed to like this finding. It was only a matter of minutes before the chocolate residue stained the corners of my companion's mouth in a brown color. However, I preferred to smoke a cigarette at first and watch the girl devour her own body weight in the form of chocolate.

" This is fantastic! It feels like forever since I last ate chocolate! I faintly remember dieting before I entered this world too, so this must have been probably weeks since I held chocolate in my hand." Kuon said with delight. It was amusing to watch her enjoy sweets. Kuon's carelessness may be a burden at times, but her innocent character makes up for it.

" you partly remember your life prior to this, don't you?"

" Yes, not much to be honest. I'm sorry you can't," Kuon replied in a concerned voice.

"Tell me about it."

She gave me a visibly puzzled look before straightening her back so that she was sitting as straight as a candle on the sofa across from me, staring at her hands somewhat lost in thought. She seemed uncomfortable that I had now brought up this topic. Unfortunately, I could not take back my question. "Well," she began, "to be honest,the life I remember has not been the greatest, I guess." Kuon abruptly shook her head. " That's not true either. I was born into a rich family and had many privileges. My father owned a large company and had very high expectations of me from the very beginning. One day I was supposed to take it over. I was probably pretty lucky compared to other people. I was probably a big disappointment for him. My character was just not strong enough in his eyes. I also remember not really having any friends either, because I was privately educated. And anyway..." I could literally hear the lump in Kuon's throat as a tear began to stream down the girl's cheek.

" i'm sorry. You know, I didn't really mean to end up crying."

I felt my heart break once again, watching the girl grieve. I was surprised now, though, to find out that this yet seemingly uncomplicated high school student was actually carrying a lot of emotional baggage. I did not hesitate as I jumped up from my seat to calm the blue-haired girl. I really hated it like the plague when she cried. Trying to preserve my Coolness, however, I grumbled, "oh girl. What's wrong?"

I placed myself to her left, and pressed her against my shoulder while running my hand over her hair a few times. There was no way I could bring myself to face her, though. It would be too embarrassing and, after all, I was far from being the Prince Charming who would dry her tears with a silken tissue. Besides, I could not withstand the sight of her teary eyes. So there I sat, a weeping teenage girl wetting my blazer with salty drops of grief on my right, awkwardly staring off into the distance.

"It's, it's..." she stammered, not being able to form a word. "You're the first person I've been able to trust, and because of that, I'm kind of..."

She took a deep breath, "It makes me so unbelievably happy."

Almost for the second time that day, a cigarette nearly got stuck in my throat, but this time I was able to suppress my urge to cough. The girl seemed to really like me. But did I like her too? I would be lying if I said I did not care about her. And if she got killed, I could never forgive myself. It was astonishing how one could form such a strong bond with another person in such a short period of time. However, pouring out my entire feelings in front of her would not come close to the cool lifestyle I was pursuing.

" i'm also happy to have met you, Kuon.", i finally decided to answer after a moment of figuring out how to respond.

Kuon's face, which was still streaked with tears, started to smile again, which made me feel much relieved. However, it took her a while to completely stop her wailing . We remained in this position for a while, until at some point I realized that the girl had fallen asleep. Her head had lowered in the meantime even further toward the ground, so that after some time she was no longer leaning against my shoulder but much rather against my belly. When I noticed this after some time and looked down to the girl, a cute sight presented itself to me. Admittedly, on the one hand it felt nice to act as this girl's pillow. On the other hand, it triggered an immeasurable amount of embarrassment in me. But cool guys do like to take care of girls' comfort, don't they?

Therefore, I decided I'd rather not wake her up and hardly moved at all. I looked out the window to my right, watching the sunset and reflected on certain issues. I was thinking about Rika as well as the two girls we were trying to find and, of course, about Kuon and so many other things until my eyes started to close.

When I regained consciousness, the night must have settled in. Before I could even perceive my surroundings properly, I swiveled my head once to the left and once to the right and let my gaze wander through the room. Because the moon was particularly bright this night, everything around me had taken on a deep blue tone. It was so quiet around me that I could have heard a pin drop. In the next second I realized that I should not have fallen asleep in the first place. Somebody would have had to keep watch, after all! Crap! If an enemy would have come along the way, it certainly would not have been good for me and Kuon. I looked down to my thigh where the blue-haired girl was supposed to lie. I felt her place her head on my thigh at some point during the night, but when I looked down at my thigh, I could not find any girl. Where the hell was Kuon? A rational thinking person, as I was one, could of course assume that my companion did not necessarily have to be in danger, but could also have simply visited the toilet, for example. Nonetheless, my alarm bells started ringing immediately. Kuon was, after all, a young girl who, apart from the "rail gun", did not posses many possibilities for self-defense. So of course I was worried.

Without thinking much, I hopped up from the sofa, on which I had been napping a few moments before. In quick stride I wandered through the poorly lit hallway without really having a clue where I was heading. My head was foggy from the idea that the girl might be in serious danger. A few days ago, I probably would have accepted the fact that she was suddenly nowhere to be found and continued my journey. And now my stomach was already twisting at the thought of her getting in trouble.

Nevertheless, a short moment later, my heart pounding madly from the ever-repeating scenario in my head, I heard a noise at the end of the corridor. A soft, high-pitched humming was heard, drowned out by the pattering of many drops. Light emerged from the crack of a door on the left. Was she taking a shower? The feeling of relief spread through my chest, followed by some degree of annoyance. Why did the girl not wake me up? I took a few steps towards the door, but before I was about to reach for the door handle, I remembered that I should not do so. A gentleman never violates a lady's privacy. So I decided to wait.

I leaned against the local wall, one leg bent. Then I let my thoughts wander, while the pattering of the raindrops in the bathroom right next to me showed no indication of stopping anytime soon. A lady of high society must spend quite a bit of her life showering, I thought to myself. And before I knew it, the image of Kuon suddenly popped up in my head. In my imagination I pictured her body, wondering what it looked like completely naked. A bar of soap running over her plump breasts, leaving traces of foam on her soft, wet skin. A body swinging under the hot rainfall like a leaf in the wind, presenting its vivid buttocks. I wonder if she was shaved? Hardly had I been able to finish this dirty thought of mine and get mad at my filthy thinking when my ears picked up the sound of footsteps in the distance. And they were coming ominously closer.

Damn, I thought to myself and was about to reach for my rifle, only to realize that I forgot it next to the sofa where I had been sleeping. I had been so upset about her disappearance that I could seriously forget the most crucial item for our survival.What was I going to do? For a brief moment I was at a loss. Escape proved almost impossible at this point, since I was at a dead end and I could not force the approaching enemy down with any surrounding objects. Besides, if I escaped, it would only be a matter of time before the enemy would track down my helpless companion. In the next moment, almost instinctively, I reached for the door handle that led to the bathroom that Kuon had still claimed. Perhaps there were objects in the room that were suitable for fighting, or perhaps we could be lucky and not be found, I speculated in the heat of the moment. So I tore open the door and rushed into the bathroom, greeted by a hot haze that took over the entire area.

"Kuon!" I called out in a hushed tone.

Without hesitation, I pushed my way through the door that separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom as if I was walking through nothing. Until that moment, I had hardly given a thought to the circumstances of this situation. But at the latest, when finally the naked body of a schoolgirl jumped into my field of vision, I quickly realized this again. I was just about to violate Kuon's privacy. An obviously shocked girl looked towards me, that from 1 second to the other tried to cover herself desperately.

"Mr.Ma-", she was about to say, but I interrupted her raised voice by pressing my hand to her lips as quickly as possible.

While I was still in the act of stepping into the shower, I flicked the light switch in the same movement so that no sign of our presence could escape from the room. Maybe they would not find us here, I hoped at this point.

"There's someone out there," I whispered to the naked girl in front of me.

" if we are quiet, maybe we won't be found. If we are, then..."

Kuon replied to me with an unintelligible "Mmm" , which resembled the sound of a frightened gasp. My body had pressed so close to hers by now that I could feel the wetness of her skin soaking through my shirt. I had directed my face facing away from her so that I could sharpen my hearing for the footsteps I could hear. Furthermore , I did not want to add unnecessary tension to the whole situation. It was uncool enough to interfere with a naked girl taking a shower even if it was an emergency. My hand was still resting on her lips and even though I was wearing gloves and looking away, I could clearly feel the warmth building up in Kuon's cheeks. She was obviously blushing in this moment. But having her pressed against the bathroom wall while forcing my hand tightly onto her lips and not even keeping a distance of not 2 inches, I could not blame her.

For quite a while, we did not move at all. We listened closely to the footsteps, which came a little closer and finally slowly moved away from us again. Temporarily it was even so quiet in this bathroom that we could hear each other breathing. Kuon's breathing was fast and almost verged on hyperventilation in this situation. Because there was hardly any distance between our bodies, I could literally feel her chest rising and falling in short intervals. With each rise, her breasts brushed my upper body a slight bit. I tried, as always, to keep my composure and block out the fact that Kuon was completely naked. Only when several minutes had passed did my posture loosen and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we should be safe for now," I stated and let go of the girl.

I flipped the light switch and had to swallow.

Kuon had been naked before too, but it was only now that the danger was gone that I could really comprehend this fact. She had tried to cover her breasts with her hands and had simultaneously crossed her legs, looking down with a shameful expression on her face. However, the concealment attempt seemed to be unsuccessful for her. Although I only caught a glimpse of her appearance before I turned away from her as quickly as possible, I saw her entire beauty for a moment.Her breasts were in relation to her otherwise so petite body, large and plump. She had a narrow waist and perfectly shaped legs, in combination with her smooth, fair skin. And so she shaved, I could still tell. What remained most imprinted on my mind, however, was the look on her face.I of course preferred to see her friendly smile a thousand times more than this face that expressed pure shame. But I could not help but adore the sight of her big sparkling dog eyes looking at the ground helplessly.

My breath stopped for a moment, but then I quickly cleared my throat, my gaze already averted from her, scanning the room for a towel. I tried to hide the fact that I actually wanted to slap myself for the thoughts I was having. Luckily, my embarrassment was not visible through the mask. I had to change the subject immediately before the situation became even more awkward:

"Sorry, Kuon." , I mumbled. I was surprised myself by my harsh tone. It took me a while to recollect the words.

"You should let me know next time you decide to go somewhere else."

"Oh yeah right. I didn't mean to cause any trouble.", Countered the girl who also seemed to be a bit embarrassed. So it wasn't just me who was feeling uncomfortable about this situation. Without giving my companion another look, I threw a towel right over my head at her. I had a precise aim.

" I'm going to get my rifle. I forgot it in all the hurry near the sofa."

Just as I was about to open the door to step out, the girl interrupted my process by grabbing my arm with unusual intensity.

" can you come back here afterwards? Please?"

"That's what I was planning on doing anyway. I'll be waiting right outside the door," I replied, a bit puzzled by this question.

" but I have -." she interrupted herself, shaking her head slightly before continuing.

Then her facial expression regained its former composure, whereupon she gave me her typical, beaming smile. I could tell, however, that she did not mean it honestly. How I could tell that, I had no idea myself though. But did she want me to stay here with her?

" no you're right. I'll hurry up and be done in a few minutes," she said. While she was talking, she wrapped the towel around her body in a quick movement, fastening it in front with the help of a knot.

I had meanwhile turned my gaze back to her. Although Kuon was now dressed, it was difficult for me not to inspect her from top to bottom. Her entire body was still drenched in a hint of wetness, so that her skin was reflectingthe bright bathroom light. It was also slightly red from the hot shower water. I wondered if the red tint to her cheeks was also caused by that, or if I was responsible for it.I could not help but notice the way the towel just managed to hide all the places it was supposed to cover and yet was far too tight. If she bent over, a special view would present itself to me. Immediately I dashed this disgusting thought from my head. If I continued to reduce myself only to her appearance this could end in negligence on my part and I would not be able to protect her properly.After all, that was the most important thing. I also discarded this thought. Had this strange girl really become so important to me? Nevertheless, there was no place for interpersonal relationships in this world.Before I could get any further into this train of thought, I turned away again and finally walked out of the room. I was in need of a cigarette.

[dancethroughthethunder]

A Little Gryffindor Courage

Word Count: A little under 4.6k

Pairing: Young!Remus Lupin x Ravenclaw!Reader

Request: “Hi! Can you please do a young Remus Lupin x Ravenclaw! reader where she smells amortentia for slughorns class and she smells chocolate and panics bc woah, Remus likes chocolate! And he smells her scent (whatever you decide) in his own and gets the marauders go help set them both up? Tysm!!”

Authors Note: Am I using the “Marlene, Dorcas, Lily and Reader as girl group parallel to the Marauders just because four people get sat at a table in my brain”? You bet I am. Also, fem!reader as the request specified pronouns! This is my first request and I’m super excited to write it. I made the reader smell like lilacs because that’s what I smell like and it’s the first scent that came to mind lol. Reader smells more than just chocolate in the Amortentia bc I firmly believe it’s about more than romantic love. So I’ll say it now, only the third and final smell for Reader is meant to be romantic. I’m a sucker for an amortentia fic and a young!Remus so this is the perfect first request- it’s like you picked my brain to come up with it. I hope you like it! Xoxo (tagging @ragnarachael bc I promised her I would)

Summary: Sixth year students Remus Lupin and Y/N L/N have been good friends and potions partners for a while. One day, Professor Slughorn decides to switch up the pairs and you find yourself partnered with your dear friend Lily Evans while you study and make Amortentia. What happens when you find yourself smelling chocolate? Some teasing from Lily, and a push in the right direction from your friends help you and Remus figure out that there might be more than just friendly feelings between the two of you. 

Warnings: If you count some terrible puns as a warning, then there’s that.

“Hey pretty lady, can I walk you to your class?” 

“Oh my, a suitor of my own. I can’t wait to tell mother.” Your best friend Lily Evans giggled as she turned around to see you standing behind her, hand extended to her.

“Oi L/N, you make a better James than James.” Sirius yelled out from down the table as you watched Peter duck so James could have the perfect line or sight to toss a piece of cereal at his best friend. 

“Good morning boys.” You waved, laughing as Lily took your hand and began to walk with you away from the Gryffindor table and out of the Great Hall to go to your first lesson, Potions. 

You loved having Potions first thing in the day, and certainly not because of your professor. Sure Slughorn meant well but there was only so much fawning he could do over you and your best friends before you were practically begging for Professor McGonagall’s tough no nonsense attitude. No, you liked Potions because it meant you got to start your day with your best friends, as Ravenclaw and Gryffindor shared the class together. 

The second you left the Great Hall, you were joined by Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon, the other half of your friend group. You supposed people thought it was strange that your closest friends were in a different house, but hey houses are about the qualities you espouse and hold dear, not a binding group of exclusive friends that you can’t stray beyond. The four of you made your way down to the dungeons while the three Gryffindors caught you up on the nighttime shenanigans the Marauders had been up to since you saw them last. 

Walking into the classroom, you saw a note on the front board telling you that Professor Slughorn would be late and to divide into the pairs up on the board. Huh, that’s weird, you thought, Slughorn usually keeps the same partners. Well, I hope my new one is as good as my current one. You scanned the board to find your name and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw that luckily you were paired with Lily. Okay, so maybe there were some benefits to being the teacher’s favorites. 

“Aww poor Y/N/N, she won’t get to stare at her boy all class.” Marlene teased as her and Dorcas took their seats on the opposite sides of the table from you and Lily. Huh, me and Lil and Dorcas and Marls? Slughorn must be in a really good mood.

“Oh hush, Remus and I are friends okay, nothing more. You’re just projecting your love for Sirius onto me, Marlene McKinnon.” Marlene shrugged, smirking, but dropped the subject as the boys in question walked into the room. 

“Sluggy, Lily, ladies, other members of the class.” James Potter came strolling into the classroom first, with a smirking Sirius Black, an amused looking Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin, lovingly rolling his eyes at his friend. James stopped to acknowledge Lily, then the rest of your table before turning to realize that your professor was nowhere to be seen. 

“We’re supposed to be getting into the pairs listed on the board, and starting to brew Amortentia. But then again, those of us who can read already know that, Potter.” If it was anybody else you were sure the harsh comment would be enough for a jinx thrown behind their backs later, but with Lily and James it was just par for the course. 

You went to the storage cupboard to get the ingredients you needed, while Lily was setting up your cauldron with the proper equipment you would need to make the potion. 

“Good morning, Y/N.” You heard the familiar voice of your typical potions partner and turned around to find Remus Lupin standing behind you, waiting to grab his own ingredients. 

“Morning, Remus. I have to say, as glad as I am that it’s Lil, I’m going to miss my favorite potions partner”. You teasingly bumped his hip with your own as you said this, your arms full of potions ingredients. 

“Don’t let Lily hear you say that I’m your favorite, not her, she’ll kick both of our arses.”

“Oh Remus, who said I was talking about you?” You giggled as you ducked under his arm to head back to your table.

“I’m wounded, truly.” Remus smirked at you as you tried to hide the blush that was undoubtedly creeping up your face. 

“Somehow I think you’ll survive, Rem.” You quickly walked away before Marlene or the girls could notice the interaction and tease you even further about it. 

You walked back over to your table, trying not to look back at the tall boy that had captured your attention. As much as you liked Remus, you weren’t going to say anything. Sometimes you thought he was flirting with you, but you were sure that you were reading into it. Besides, with best friends like James, Sirius and Peter, there was no way he could possibly like you without the three of them turning it into a spectacle a la Lily and James. 

Sometime later, Professor Slughorn had appeared, apologizing for his absence and mumbling something about a group of first and second years that had needed a big enough disciplinary meeting that included him as their Head of House, and the Headmaster. You barely paused to register what he was saying as you continued focusing your attention on brewing your, fairly complicated potion. Soon enough, the liquid in your cauldron was taking on a mother-of-pearl shine as steam came piling out of it. You wiped your hand over the back of your forehead, to hopefully reduce the bit of sweat that was appearing as everyone’s potions were giving off hot steam.

“Hey, Marlene?” 

“Yes, Dorcas?”

“I wonder what exactly a tall, sandy haired Gryffindor prefect smells like?” You looked up from your potion and groaned as your two best friends on the other side of the table exchanged wicked grins, that you knew meant trouble.

“Well you know Dor, I bet there’s one way to find out.” 

“Just ask Y/N/N what her Amortentia smells like.” Dorcas and Marlene finished together as Lily laughed and you groaned. 

Unbeknownst to you, there was a similar discussion occurring over at the Marauders table.

“Hey James, how many galleons do you want to put on a bet that whatever Y/N smells like, our Moony here smells in his potion?”

“It’s lilacs!” Peter excitedly claimed.

“What?” His three best friends turned, faces screwed up in confusion, to stare at him. 

“What Y/N smells like? She smells like lilacs.” Peter smiled as he offered this information.

“Now how in Merlin’s name do you know that Pete?” Sirius turned to look from Peter to you, back to Peter with one eyebrow raised.

“That Hogsmeade weekend when she was sick and couldn’t go, she asked me to pick up some more of her soap for her, don’t you remember?”

“No Pete literally nobody remembers that, and loverboy, do you feel like you’ve got competition now?”

“Don’t be a hippogriff’s left nut James, you two probably just had detention that day. And regardless, anyone could tell you that she smells like lilacs.”

“Again, no, nobody just knows that off the top of their head. Unless they’re Peter or they’re in love.”

Before either you or Remus could give some sort of (honestly well deserved) snarky remark to your respective friend groups, Professor Slughorn called the class to attention and began to wax poetic about Amortentia.

“Ahh Amortentia. The strongest love potion in the world, but I’m sure you all know that from the chapter. It smells different to each person, depending on that which attracts them. Some people smell purely based on the romantic love in their life, but for many of us, Amortentia’s smell reminds us of love both familial and romantic, platonic and intimate. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, maybe love is in the nose of the potion maker.” Slughorn paused here to chuckle, with one hand on his stomach and the other rested on his desk, clearly incredibly amused by himself. 

As badly as you wanted to keep a straight face and not encourage the man from any further attempts at humor, you couldn’t stop the laugh escaping from your mouth. Before you had a chance to cover your mouth with your hand, Remus turned around and the two of you shared eye contact and a smile that Lily (who was of course, observing) would swear had nothing to do with the joke you were both unsuccessfully trying not to laugh at. That was one thing you liked about having Remus as a potions partner, you had similar senses of humor and he wasn’t afraid to laugh at a professor’s bad jokes with you. Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn caught the eye contact between you two and decided that you were the perfect person to pick on as the next, and final, part of the lesson.

“Now, class, as we can see Miss Evans and Miss L/N’s potion is absolutely marvellous, see the mother of pearl sheen? The spirals of steam? I can see that not all of you had as much luck, so after we have Miss L/N demonstrate for us how to properly smell the potion and describe for us what she smells, I want you all to come over here and smell their potion. Then you may pack up for the day. Remember, I want a foot of parchment on Amortentia and you will not receive complete marks unless I see you smell this potion and you make mention of your specific type of scent in your essay. Have a good day, I’ll be at my desk to observe if you have any questions. But first, Miss L/N?”

You were hoping he’d forget. But, he didn’t. What a man, forgets when you need him to remember and remembers when you need him to forget. Oh well, at least he means well. You tucked your hair behind your ears so as to not get any of it in the potion and leaned forward to inhale just a little bit of the steam to be able to smell your potion. 

“Well, go on girl, tell us what you smell.”

As you breathed in, the first thing you noticed was the indescribable scent that you knew without hesitation, “It smells like my grandmother’s kitchen. If I could describe happiness and childhood in a scent it would be this.” You sighed contentedly as you continued describing the scent of your potion, “and something.. Comforting, clean, but I can’t totally tell. Oh, Lil can you move away for a moment?”

As Lily moved to the other side of the table, you realize that you can still smell what is just so fundamentally Lily. “Well that makes sense, the next scent is my best friend. It’s you, Lil.” You smiled at her as you tried to hone in on the third and final discernible scent in your potion. 

“Anything else Miss L/N?” You sensed that Slughorn could tell you weren’t quite done with your potion.

“It’s… hmm I mean it’s sweet but not like a pudding. I think it’s, yes it’s chocolate.” You were so focused on your potion that you didn’t see the way that Remus froze in his chair, eyes on you while Sirius was (not subtly at all) tapping Remus on the knee under the table, as if to say “Hey Remus that’s you in case you didn’t know, that friend of ours that you’ve fancied for years smelled you and you’re chocolate”. You know, the way an excited puppy might hit you with its wagging tail. 

But you didn’t notice, you were too busy trying to think through who you associated with the smell of chocolate because smelling Remus? Certainly not, how fanciful and romantic- you didn’t have time to be a hopeless romantic. No, there had to be some other explanation than the boy who you knew always had chocolate for a friend in need and who threatened to die Sirius’ beloved hair if he stole his last bar of chocolate one more time. It couldn’t be Remus, who always let Lily raid his chocolate stash for you when he knew it was your time of the month, Remus for whom you made sure to return the favor (what? You were a Ravenclaw for Rowena’s sake, it wasn’t like you hadn’t put two and two together, I mean really it didn’t take a potions master to figure out why his friends called him Moony). Nope, there was another explanation and that was that. 

While you were typically to dispose of your own potion and clean up your workstation, Professor Slughorn allowed you and Lily to be the first to leave class and have someone else (likely him) clean up your area, that way everyone else could use your perfect potion to find their own smell. You and Lily grabbed your bags and books, told Marlene and Dorcas you’d meet them in the courtyard and headed out of the classroom. 

As you made your way to the courtyard, Remus was taking his time clearing his own cauldron, hoping that if he went slowly enough his friends would give up and go smell the Amortentia without him. He could have smelled his own except Peter accidentally bumped his arm while he was pouring one of his ingredients into his cauldron. While Peter apologized profusely, Remus didn’t mind; it was one of the most advanced potions they had attempted so far and it was likely that a mistake would be made somewhere along the way. Regardless, Remus wasn’t necessarily afraid of what he might smell, he was afraid of admitting it to his friends. 

“Cmon Moons, time to go find out what gives you a nose boner…. A noner”

“Sirius, do you hear the things that come out of your mouth?” Being best friends with James and Sirius, one might think that they would cease finding things surprising. They would be wrong.

“Nope, it’s a surprise to me as well, more fun that way. Let’s go!” Before Remus could protest or find something else to occupy his time and attention, Sirius had grabbed his one arm, James the other and Peter was standing behind him making sure that he had no choice but to move forward towards the cauldron. 

The three boys shoved Remus so hard he nearly went head first into the cauldron, a little too excited to see what the potion would reveal. When the tall blonde boy softened, and the corners of his mouth turned up instinctively at the first smell of the potion, the boys knew that look meant one thing and one thing alone: lilacs.

Remus would deny it (“Denial is a hell of a drug, my wolfy little friend”) but he had a Y/N face. James could put a bell around your neck and it still wouldn’t be as reliable as Remus’ face to notify others that you had entered a room. Then again, as he’d remind his friends, unless you’re carrying a mirror around everywhere, one can never really know what the nuances of their different facial expressions can look like. Regardless, the Y/N face never lies, and without having to ask, the Marauders knew that the potion had confirmed what everyone with a pair of eyes knew, that you and Remus both fancied each other deeply enough to impact the smell of your Amortentia. As Remus began to straighten up, the three boys exchanged looks and knew that they needed to do something to help the two of you figure out how to express your feelings before someone in your respective friend groups just put it in a Howler for the entire Great Hall to hear. 

As you went on with the rest of your day, completely unaware of what (or perhaps more accurately, who) Remus smelled in his Amortentia, your friends realized that the Marauders were up to something. After Potions, you didn’t have another class with Gryffindors for the rest of that particular day so until dinnertime (you liked to spend lunch with your fellow Ravenclaws) you wouldn’t have a really good chance to catch up with any of them. That left the Marauders free to scheme and your friends free to try and find out what their favorite trouble makers were up to. 

“Alright Pettigrew, tell us what’s going on.” Lily Evans walked up to Peter Pettigrew who, instead of using his break to go into the courtyard or even the library, was standing outside the very same potions classroom they were in that morning.

“What? Erm, nothing really… what’s… going on with you?” Peter looked around nervously wondering why now of all times, it was his turn to be the lookout. They should have known better than to come up with a plan regarding Y/N without bringing Marlene, Lily, and Dorcas in on it. 

“Come on Peter, you can’t think we’re that stupid. Now where are the other three? And what trouble are you getting into?”

“My sweet Lilyflower.” The three girls jumped as Sirius appeared behind them, having snuck up behind them silently.

“Ugh, Sirius. Come on, we know you’re up to something and I don’t have time for another one of Potter’s proposals.” Lily rolled her eyes, while Marlene and Dorcas laughed. 

“Now now Lilypad, you’re not the flower we’re concerned with today. We’re on more of a… lilac kick today.” Sirius smirked, feeling so clever as he said this.

“So it has to do with Y/N?” Marlene’s eyes lit up as she started to put the pieces together.

“What? Erm, what?” 

“Everyone knows she smells like lilacs, she’s always getting more lilac soap and perfume when we go into Hogsmeade.” Dorcas rolled her eyes as Sirius looked around, clearly not expecting that answer.

“Huh, Remus was right, everyone knows that.” Before Sirius could answer, the door behind Peter opened and James came out of the classroom. 

“Okay, we take it back Pete, maybe that is something everyone knows.” Peter smiled triumphantly as Sirius shrugged. “Anyways, follow us ladies.” The six students walked up towards the Gryffindor common room together, as the boys filled the girls in on their plan for dinner. 

Dinnertime arrived and you walked into the Great Hall, surprised to find that none of your friends were at the Gryffindor table. You quickly scanned the other three tables, taking extra time when looking at the Ravenclaw table, in case they decided to switch things up and were waiting for you at a different table tonight. You even glanced over at the Slytherin table, knowing that the chance of them being there was greater than the chance of you suddenly owning all the gold in Gringotts. 

Suddenly there was an arm around your shoulder, and Sirius was by your side. “M’lady, would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Oh well of course good sir”. You laughed as you allowed Sirius to steer you towards the Gryffindor table. You sat down next to him and saw James, Marlene, Peter, and Dorcas all walking in together, talking as they made their way over to you and Sirius at the table. You started to pour yourself a glass of pumpkin juice when you realized that your friends were definitely up to something. The girls acting this cozy with the boys? All while wearing mischievous smiles on their faces and staring at you? Yep, something was definitely going on. You wondered if it had anything to do with Lily and Remus’ absences and wondered for a moment if that meant James was planning another elaborate show of love for Lily with Remus acting as the distraction.

“Alright, you lot are up to no good, what is it this time?” You did your best impression of Professor McGonagall, making Dorcas, Marlene, and Peter burst out in laughter and earning impressed smirks from Sirius and James. 

“My dear, wonderful, talented potion maker Y/N/N, could you kindly identify this potion for us?” James pulled a vial out of his pocket, took off the lid and handed it to you. Even if you hadn’t noticed the distinct coloring, the immediate smell of chocolate and Lily’s fresh linens hit you and you knew that somehow your friends had gotten ahold of their own bit of Amortentia.

“Guys, you can’t be serious? You can’t give someone Amortentia, that’s incredibly unethical and not to mention-”

“Don’t worry my wise little friend, we aren’t dosing anyone. But, you can confirm this is Amortentia?” Sirius smirked at you while taking the vial out of your hands, all the while leaving the cap off.

“Yes of course, how did you get it? What are you doing with it?”

“Never mind that, and just wait and see.” Sirius said as Marlene leaned into your ear to whisper (“nicked it from Sluggy’s office earlier”).

At that exact moment, Lily and Remus came up to the table, deep in discussion. “Hey everyone.” Remus smiled at you as he greeted everyone.

“Here, mate. You can take my seat and I’ll move over- woah, sorry Moons.” In his attempt to stand up and allow Remus to swap spots with him, Sirius slipped and managed to pour the entire vial of Amortentia down Remus’ robes. Before anyone could offer him a napkin to wipe it off the Muggle way, or could get their wand out for a quick Scourgify, Remus started laughing.

“Merlin, Sirius, it really wasn’t that important for you to prove. We get it, you don’t know that Y/N usually smells like lilacs, you didn’t need to go out and nick her perfume to prove that the rest of us recognize it.” Remus continued laughing as your jaw dropped. 

All of a sudden, it made sense. As the pieces fell together, you realized why Sirius had stolen the Amortentia from Slughorn’s office and why ¾ of the Marauders were conspiring with your friends. You quickly realized that the reason no one was quick to help clean up the mess was because unlike you, they knew it was coming and wanted to make sure that Remus would identify your scent before it was gone. You also figured that the reason Lily came late was to distract and slow down Remus so everyone else could have time to have you identify the potion, and that Sirius’ spill was as purposeful as him initially taking the seat next to you. Not for the first time that day, you knew that Remus unknowingly caused you to both smile, and blush while trying to hide both. 

“I suddenly remembered that I need to ask my girl Minnie McG about Quidditch and that I need Sirius, Peter, Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas with me for moral support.” James jumped up from the table, and after a nod from Sirius, the rest of your friends stood up and quickly headed towards the front of the room.

“All of them? That’s so odd. Y/N, your perfume is rather lovely as always, but would you mind passing me a napkin?” Remus awkwardly brought his hand up to scratch behind his ear as he sat down across from you, waiting for an explanation and a napkin.  You instead got your wand out and muttered a quick scourgify, handing Remus a glass of pumpkin juice instead.

“Erm, Remus.”

Before you could say anything else, Remus (finally noticing the hesitation in your voice and amusement on your face) panicked that he had made you uncomfortable by recognizing your perfume, “Oh so earlier the boys and I were talking about our friends and Peter mentioned that he knew that you smelled like lilacs because of that one Hogsmeade trip and then-”

“Remus!” You reached across the table and placed your hand on his, hoping that you were guessing correctly in that your scent was romantically in his Amortentia, and that it wasn’t there just as a good friend.

“Yes?” This time, it was Remus’ turn to flush, and though his hand twitched nervously under yours, he didn’t dare move a muscle.

“That wasn’t my perfume Sirius spilled on you. It was, well, it was some leftover Amortentia from this morning. Wait, hey, wait, let me finish okay?” You smiled sweetly at him, knowing that his nerves had to be extreme right now. “Do you remember the third thing I smelled this morning? The chocolate? It’s you, of course it’s you Remus. I mean honestly, do you think I fancy the cashier at Honeydukes?” You winked at him, then took a deep breath.

“Listen, Rem, if I’ve got this all wrong and you smelled my perfume platonically like I smelled Lily, just say the world and we’ll never mention this again but, I fancy you, a lot. I figure that I know us both well enough to know that neither of us are really keen on being the one to make the first move. So I was wondering if I could borrow a little of your Gryffindor courage?”

Remus (who was displaying the strongest case of Y/N face in recorded history) nodded, happy but also curious to see where you were going with this. You smiled and took a breath to steady yourself as you lifted the hand that wasn’t currently on his and placed it lightly on the side of his face. If hearts could melt, yours would have been absolute liquid at the sight and sensation of Remus smiling and leaning into your hand. You slowly started to lean in, wanting to give him the opportunity to change his mind. 

Finally, for the first time since he realized he fancied you all those years ago, Remus Lupin decided to do something about it and leaned in to meet you halfway. Remus turned the hand on the table upwards, so as to hold your hand properly while kissing you and you smiled into the kiss thinking that if Gryffindor courage meant getting to kiss Remus like this, you might talk to Dumbledore about a house transfer.

As you pulled away, you heard a noise behind you and turned around to find Professor McGonagall staring at the two of you, as you both blushed but remained holding hands.

“Miss L/N, Mr. Lupin, I assume I don’t have to remind you that public displays of affection need not occur in the Great Hall?” McGonagall tilted her head and spoke sternly, and before you could apologize, Sirius and James came quite literally running up to the three of you.

“Minnie, it’s young love!! You can’t deny them that!” Sirius yelled as James dramatically pretended to cry, hand clutched to his chest. 

“Oh pull yourselves together boys, and get on with dinner.” As soon as Minerva McGonagall turned away from you, she could no longer keep a smile from creeping onto her face. She was ready to collect her galleons from Pomona Sprout about which of the two of you would make a move first (she counted your declaration as a move as the kiss was mutual), and could later be heard laughing over pudding “Well of course, I wasn’t going to deny them that, I mean did they see me revoking house points? No, but I can’t let them know we approve, Albus, it takes away half the fun”). 

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

Could You Be My Little Quarantine?

AU: Mercedes has no excuse to not be zooming with Kurt right now and Blaine has the wrong Zoom ID.

AO3

A/N: This is a product of my late-night story ideas. I could see more from this 'verse developing but I'd need some ideas for what to write. If you have prompts please send them my way. I hope you all enjoy it!

Part 2 Part 3

***

2020

It wasn’t that Kurt isn’t happy for Mercedes. In all the years they’ve been best friends, they've always been supportive of one another. So, it was no surprise to Kurt that she was enjoying her two-week quarantine with her boyfriend. She didn’t flaunt her relationship around Kurt and she made just as much time for him as she always did and Kurt really appreciated it. It meant so much to see her occasionally pushing plans with her boyfriend in favor of talking to Kurt be it Zoom or a regular phone call. Sometimes, she’d cancel because of her recording schedule, which Kurt understood. When he had been rehearsing for a Broadway production of Moulin Rouge!, his schedule was ever-changing.

Tonight was different though because Mercedes had no excuse to cancel on Kurt. She was literally ordered to stay in her apartment. There were no recording sessions, no producers to meet with, and her boyfriend was basically living with her so Kurt’s a little frustrated to be left waiting on Zoom. He’ll give her 15 minutes before texting her. He's still using the college 15-minute rule. As in if the professor doesn’t show after 15 minutes, the class is free to leave. Except, in this case, Kurt was planning to text his friend until she responded.

Kurt did what he usually did while waiting. Played a new word in Scrabble against Carole and went through his recently saved photos (deleting the ones automatically saved from his Instagram Stories) before ultimately opening his fashion Twitter account and scrolling endlessly. He’ll periodically look at the time and note only a minute has passed since he last looked. Until someone who is definitely not Mercedes joins his Zoom meeting room and says hello.

“Hello,” Kurt says, putting his phone down.

“Um hi,” the other man replies. “You’re not Cooper.”

“And you’re not Mercedes.”

“No, I’m not. This is awkward.” He runs his hand through his black curls. “I’m so sorry. I should probably hop off and yell at my brother for giving me the wrong Zoom ID.”

“It’s no problem, my friend’s likely ditching me for her boyfriend. This was a nice surprise.”

“Is it?” he asks. “Cause I feel pretty embarrassed right now. What are the odds I typed an actual Zoom ID in?”

“Well, you were looking for your brother,” Kurt says. “I imagine it’s similar odds to dialing the wrong phone number.”

The man laughs. “You’re probably right. I’m Blaine by the way.”

“Kurt.”

“Wait, you aren’t…” Blaine trails off and leans closer to the camera like he’s trying to get a better look at Kurt. “You are,” he concludes. “Kurt Hummel?”

“Um yes?” Kurt winces at his voice cracking.

“I saw you twice on Broadway last year. You were outstanding as Christian. Moulin Rouge! is one of my favorite movies so when I heard it was going to Broadway, I knew I had to get tickets. Then, after I saw it the first time I didn’t shut up about how incredible it was so Coop brought me tickets again for my birthday, which ended up being much better seats than I could afford.”

“Oh, well thank you. It’s one of my favorite movies too. That’s why I auditioned in the first place but I was shocked to get the lead. I was told so often that a voice like mine didn’t get the romantic roles of the stage.”

“Are you kidding? They couldn’t have cast a better Christian! I saw you in Peter Pan too. Stunning performance.”

“You saw Peter Pan?” Kurt questions. “I performed that for a charity event at a nursing house like five years ago.”

“At my grandmother’s nursing home to be exact.” Kurt thought Blaine was turning a little red but maybe it was the lighting. “I’ve been following your career ever since. I hope Moulin Rogue! won’t be your last performance. It’d be a waste of talent.”

Kurt smiles. “I appreciate your support. I don’t intend to make it my last but I’m taking a short break from performing to get back into student mode. I’m finishing up my last semester of grad school at NYU.”

“I did my undergrad at NYU. Great professors,” Blaine comments. “I was actually supposed to be making my debut on the stage this summer but alas COVID-19 has shut us down for a bit.”

“Debut in what? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“David Mamet’s American Buffalo.”

“Let me guess, Bobby?”

“Yeah,” Blaine replies grinning.

“I’m sure it’ll be back up and running soon. I assume you still live in the city then?”

“I do. New York’s my real home. I always felt out of place in California. My mom moved us there after her divorce and Cooper got his first gig so we stuck around.”

“Gig? Like a band?” Kurt asks, wondering if Cooper ran in similar circles as his college friend, Elliott.

“No, like acting actually. Sorry, poor word choice on my part. He did credit-score commercials for a while but now he primarily does soap operas.”

“Wait, you mean your brother is Cooper Anderson?”

“Um yeah, he is,” Blaine admits.

“Now, it’s my turn to be embarrassed.” Kurt feels his face warm up. “I might’ve had the jingle to that credit-score commercials as my ringtone back in high school.”

“No, you did not!” Blaine exclaims, laughing a little.

“I’m afraid so,” Kurt tells him. “No offense but Cooper was every young gay teen’s fantasy in Ohio. And by every young gay teen, I mean myself because there was only one gay teen in Lima.”

“Kurt, I promise to never tell Cooper of this because his ego is already too large to handle however I will be holding this secret near and dear to my heart only to remember it fondly when I need a good laugh.”

“Oh hush.” Kurt bats his hand at the camera.

“So, what are you studying at NYU?”

This question led the two down a rabbit hole of their favorite classes and professors. Similar experiences they had during vocal performances and various laughter-inducing stories of their off-campus activities. Kurt’s friends’ weekly karaoke nights, Blaine’s goal to try every coffee shop in Greenwich Village, Kurt’s dream role to play Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, and Blaine’s secret identity Nightbird, who made yearly appearances in October when Blaine went to sing-a-longs at local children’s hospitals.

“Sam learned the hard way that Gatorade hurts more coming out of your nose than chocolate milk does,” Blaine chuckles.

Kurt is about to jump in with another story but a third box shows up on their screens. It’s Mercedes.

“Kurt, I am so so sorry,” she says. “Oh, hello.”

“Hi,” Blaine waves. “Mercedes, I presume?”

“That’s me.”

The call goes silent for a moment.

“Mercedes, this is Blaine.” Blaine smiles. “You were apologizing…”

“Right,” she says, ignoring Blaine’s presence for a minute while she explains.

Meanwhile, Kurt is typing a chat to Blaine so Mercedes won’t see it.

Kurt: Lovely chatting with you tonight. I’d love to meet up again sometime.

Blaine: Me too. Text me.

Kurt quickly entered the number into his phone and nodded confirming that he was both listening to Mercedes and was agreeing to text Blaine.

“Apology accepted,” Kurt tells Mercedes once she’s finished.

She grins.

“Well, I don’t want to interrupt. Lovely to meet you both but I think I’ll try and call my brother now as I had originally planned.”

Blaine does a two-handed wave before leaving the meeting.

“You have a lotta explainin’ to do, mister,” Mercedes says. “Who was that cutie?”

Kurt sighs dreamily. “If all goes my way, a potential boyfriend.”

Mercedes claps excitedly and proceeds to pull all the information Kurt’s willing to divulge about Blaine Anderson.

[horrorstoryfanfics]

Summer To Remember: Part Four

So I haven’t updated in a while because I’ve been editing this part for the last week or so. I’m really embarrassed at my inability to write smut. So I kept erasing and rewriting and just doing that cycle. I hope you guys enjoy this though. Also sorry about the fact that my mind is FILTHY. I’m also sorry for making you guys wait so long ! 

WARNING: This chapter contains filthy, ungodly smut. And a slight daddy kink.

Previous

I woke up to the feeling of Montana shaking me awake, my eyes barely opening before I shot up. "Hey, we gotta go take our showers before morning prayer," She mocked with clapped hands as she grabbed her stuff.

I stretched as I got up and grabbed all my necessities, "Thanks for waking me, I thought I set and alarm."

She winked over at me, "Ain't a thing babe."

We all finished picking out our clothes and started walking over to the shower together.

"So what's going on with you and Xavier?" Montana wiggled her eyebrows while she set everything on the bench.

I grabbed my toiletries out of my bag and looked over, "Pretty much the same thing as you  and Trevor except the sexual tension isn't cranked to a 12." I gently pushed her shoulder as I started stripping.

Brooke looked over at us anxiously, "Uhm guys...there's no privacy."

Montana smiled while rolling her eyes, "Brooke, you're acting like I haven't seen your bod before." She tossed her shirt over her head onto the ground.

I looked between them both about to say something before Brooke's beet red face said, "Yeah but that was at the gym!"

"And this is at Camp, Brooke take a chill pill. I'm not going to judge you or check you out or anything," I stated, attempting to make her feel a little bit better about the situation.

Eventually we all were showering and kept our eyes at eye length before Montana looked me up and down, "Xavier's in for a treat."

I splashed some water at her before laughing.

"And so are you," She paused, "His bod is rockin'."

I cocked an eyebrow questioningly. Wondering if they had been a thing before.

"We did it a couple of times when we first became friends," She waved her hand, "We both soon found out it was better for us to just be friends without the benefits."

I nodded, listening as she went on. "He's packed. Gives Trevor a run for his money."

Mine and Brooke's mouths dropped. Trevor was something, to say the least. So anyone coming close must be gifted as well.

"He'd kill me for telling you this but he has a major Daddy kink."

My eyes bulged, "Why are you telling me?" the heat rose to my face as my mind started to be really crafty.

Montana shrugged nonchalantly, "I see the way you've been eye-fucking," She came up beside me and rubbed her shoulders against mine, "I'm just trying to make it more fun for the both of you."

I wasn't expecting all this info but it definitely was going to be fun to use to mess with him.

After we showered, got dressed, and made ourselves look presentable we all met at the front of Camp in a giant circle.

I couldn't help but gawk at Xavier who was in some very short shorts. His toned thighs just out in the open. My mouth almost salivating at how good he looked.

"Alright, now that we're all here let's join hands." Mom said. I reached my hands out, grabbing Montana and Ray's. I bowed my head and drowned out her religious words as my mind raced to other things. I'll have to thank Montana later for the mental images.

When we were done we all dropped our hands and Trevor stepped into the middle. "Now, since I'm the activities director I've made a list of what everyone will be doing today." He clutched a clipboard tightly as he scanned over it, "Ray and Brooke you're cleaning the kids cabins, Y/n and Xavier you're helping Bertie in the kitchen, Chet you're helping Margaret, and Montana," He shot her a wink, "You're helping me check the canoes. Everyone got it?" We all nodded, "Alright good, let's go."

We all broke off into our pairs and made our way to our respected areas. Chet feeling like he got the short end of the stick again as he sulked away.

"How'd I get so lucky?" Xavier cooed beside me holding his hands behind his back as we walked.

I smirked, "I feel like you're going to be asking yourself that all summer."

He pursed his lips into an "Oh" and followed me into the kitchen. Bertie wasn't around at the moment so I sat down on a stool and waited, looking over to Xavier.

He put his hands on his hips and leaned on the counter top across from me, "Now I don't want you two fighting over me. Keep it civil." He tried to be serious but I could see the smirk creeping up in the corners of his mouth.

I rolled my eyes playfully, "No promises....daddy." I whispered the last word and Xavier jumped up quickly about to say something when Bertie came in.

"Ah," She dropped a box onto the table, "My favorite girl and my new boy toy." She sent Xavier a wicked grin.

I laughed lightly, "Hey Bertie, what do you want us to do?"

She chuckled deeply,"I know a lot of things he could do." She looked over to him, checking him out from head to toe, "But it ain't got to do with the kitchen."

Xavier's face twisted, you could see the regret of him ever making that joke. I decided to save him, knowing that she could go on all day.

"Ooohkay Bertie, let's stop before he passes out," I laughed lightly as I raised my hands, motioning for her to calm down. Even though it was funny to see him so embarrassed.

She just shrugged it off, "Well, you guys can sort through the pantry, clean the dining hall, and make sure that the appliances are clean."

"And what're you going to do?" His arms were crossed and his lip was turned into a sneer. He didn't know her like I did, she was best at giving orders. Only doing work when she was the last resort.

She threw her hands out and looked around, "I'm going to supervise." Xavier rolled his eyes. "But before I do I'm going to go smoke, you two get started." She pinched his elbow, causing him to flinch before she headed outside.

I sighed and went into the closet, pulling out all of the cleaning supplies we would need. I had a feeling Bertie's smoke break would last longer than it should. In one hand I held the broom and in the other I held up a rag, "Okay," I raised them into the air, "Pick your poison."

He huffed as he snatched the broom out of my hand, leaning down to pick up the dustpan. I started filling a bucket with soap and water as I let the rag soak in it, eventually carrying it out into the main part of the dining hall.

Plopping the bucket down on the bench as I started to ring out the cloth, bringing it over the table I looked up to see Xavier sweeping. He was sort of dancing while he moved with the broom. He looked so in his element. I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up as I let out a little giggle.

He stopped immediately and turned around, gripping the end of the broom and sticking his knee out, "I'll have you know I'm one of the best aerobics instructors in all of  L.A. You shouldn't make fun of me." He huffed as he turned his nose up.

I rinsed out the rag into the bucket, "I wasn't making fun," I looked back up and met his eyes,"I was admiring." I took the bucket and moved onto the next table, accidentally sloshing some water onto the floor.

"So that's what you do when you're not being a counselor?" I raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued.

He continued to sweep around the table I was working on, "Yeah...but what I'm really trying to do is become an actor."He turned to the side showing his crisp jawline into the air. His eyes had a light twinkle at the mention of his dream. "I trained at Stella Adler," He said boastfully.

I thought about him on the big screen. It fit. He was destined for more than just a minimum wage instructor. His face and fashion screamed star.

I pursed my lips, impressed. "You could definitely do it, make it big. Thousands of girls fawning over you." I said as I finished another table and moved onto another.

He dragged the broom as he got closer only stopping to put his knee on the other side of the bench and leaned across the table, only centimeters away from me. "Yeah, but all that matters is the one girl that I want." Even though no one else was around it was said with a hushed tone, making sure that only I could hear it.

It made my heart flutter quickly, for the first time I was at a loss for words as I just dropped the damp cloth into the bucket and moved on. He smiled to himself as he ran his tongue quickly over his lips. He continued to move with me and sweep where I was.

"What about you? What do you do?" He wanted to know more, the mysteriousness of you almost swallowing him whole. You weren't anything like your mother so he wanted to know you, all of you.

"Well," I started, dragging the cloth over yet another table, "I work at Blockbuster for the time being, our love of movies is the same," He quirked an eyebrow at my comment, "Except I don't really have any dreams or a set plan of anything." I sighed and brought my eyes to watch the cloth glide across the table, "My whole life I was told to do something, to have a set career, doctor, lawyer, housewife. But none of those are me....so I'm just testing the waters, just enjoying being free." I nervously looked back up at him I felt like I shared too much and that maybe he would be turned off to the idea of me now since I don't have a set course.

Instead his eyes were glistening. "Righteous," He whispered. Little did you know he was amazed, amazed at how cool you were. He didn't know everything that you went through but he could tell there was some unknown pain in your eyes. He wanted to accept it, accept you, all of you. He was feeling things he didn't really think he could feel anymore.

The door creaked open as Bertie finally came back, "Well it ain't looking too bad in here." She walked around admiring what little we had done. "I'm gonna start in the pantry." She walked back to the backroom as I moved to another table.

Xavier came and sat where I was working he set the broom down and just lounged casually. "Hey!" I exclaimed, "If we don't finish we'll never get out of here."

His bright blue eyes looked up at me, piercing right into my heart. "Well that's not such a bad thing, I could be stuck with you anywhere baby." Elbow rested on the table as his hand held up his chin lazily.

I stopped and looked over at him with a grin I couldn't keep at bay, "Being with you is great but wouldn't you rather be somewhere more....comfortable?" I was throwing the bait out there, hoping he would bite.

His eyes widened just enough for me to see the change in them. His momentary loss of cool was gone as he leaned over and patted my hand as he stood up. "Then I'll just get back to work." He squeezed my hand before letting go and bending down to pick up the broom.

"Fuck!" He yelled, I shot up and ran around the table.

"What happened?!" he was holding his hand as he winced in pain, I carefully pulled it into my own. There was a tiny amount of blood coming from his finger.

"Splinter," He mumbled.

I pulled him along into the kitchen and patted the counter top, "Hop up." He did so as I started looking around the cabinets for the first aid kit, before finding it under the sink. I brought it beside his thigh and opened it quickly. I grabbed a couple of bandages and thankfully there was a pair of tweezers in there.

"This is gonna sting a bit," I held the tweezers in my hand as I moved between his thighs, reaching for him. He obliged and I took his finger carefully before looking at his face. His eyes were heavy and half lidded as he looked down as me, his lips pulled into a tight line.

I ignored his lustrous stare as I pinched his finger, bringing it close to my face. I brought the tweezers down and carefully pulled at the piece of wood that pierced his skin.

"Ow!!" He exclaimed. "Stop being a baby," I said as I reached over his left leg and grabbed a band-aid. I wrapped it around the little cut before bringing it up to my lips and kissing it lightly.

"There, you're all better." Without thinking I placed my hands on his thighs for support, not realizing what I had done until I saw the greedy smile plastered across his face.

I was about to pull my hands away when he cupped my face and roughly brought it to his. His lips were moving so quickly it was almost hard to keep up. My mind was reeling, not really processing that he was kissing me.

He tasted sweet and addictive. Especially when his tongue started to lick at my bottom lip. I gasped lightly as I parted my mouth, opening it up for our tongues to glide against each other. My hands moved from his thighs, up his chest, until they found their way at the end of his hair, tugging lightly at the roots. He moaned at the feeling, leaning back slightly to tilt his head to admire my puffy lips and glazed over eyes.

He smiled before he put his hands on my waist, yanking me into him. I started to impatiently  grind into his hips as he moved once again to plant wet sloppy kisses all over my lips. Smiling into the kiss and gently biting his bottom lip. Eliciting another small moan as he opened his mouth, this time I fought for entrance as my tongue circled his.

He was squeezing my hips and rocking me into him. He leaned back and a string of saliva strung between the two of us. The silver strand only breaking when he began to talk. "Baby, you're playing a dangerous game. Once I start I won't be able to stop." His eyes were darker than before as his mouth parted again. I started kissing his jawline, then down his neck.

"Who says I want you to stop?" I whispered, tickling his skin with my breath before licking a thin stripe up to his ear, nibbling softly. His eyelids fluttered as I made my way back over to his lips.

We heard a shuffle behind us as we both pulled away and directed our eyes over to the noise.

Bertie was standing there drying off one of the plates, "Don't stop on my count." She smirked. "I'm enjoying the show." Shooting a taunting grin our way.

I laughed breathlessly as I buried my face into his neck, he gently caressed my head before pushing me back carefully and jumping down from the counter, "Come one," He intertwined my hand with his, "Let's go, I think we're done for the day." He started to lead me out of the doors, Bertie mumbling a "I don't think you guys did enough." Before we left.

Xavier was sprinting across the camp, dragging me behind him. "Come on," He laughed. I laughed with him, out of breath, as we stumbled our way up the steps to the boys cabin.

He pushed the door open while looking around making sure it was free of any of the other councilors. It was only a bit dim so he didn't even bother turning on the light. When the coast was clear he pulled me inside swiftly and closed the door, pinning me against it.

"I should've kissed you last night, I had no idea you tasted so good." He leapt back onto my lips with feverish sloppy kisses. My hands slid down his torso as I tugged at his shirt, eager to rip it off. He pulled away as I tugged the fabric over his head and threw it to the side. I took a moment to admire his chest as my hand grazed down his peck to the top of his shorts. I put my finger through the belt loop and yanked him back into me roughly.

He grunted as our lips connected, pulling me up in the air as I wrapped my legs around him. Not once breaking the heated kiss. He started to walk over to one of the beds as his grip tightened. Once we reached the bed he gently laid me on my back as he stood back.

"Are you ready?" His chest heaving from the intensity of our make out, his hands gripping the end of my shirt, waiting for my okay.  

I bit my lip and nodded quickly. His infamous smirk appeared as he quickly yanked the shirt over my head. His eyes looking over me hungrily as his hands reached around to unclasp my bra and throw it to the side. Naturally I covered myself, my heart beating quickly.

He grabbed both of my wrists softly and pulled them away, leaving me exposed. "Baby," He whispered deeply as his eyes scanned my chest before stopping on my eyes, "Don't get shy on me now." He leaned down and gave me a slow passionate kiss before he started kissing down my neck. Stopping at my collar bone and licked a circle before sucking down harshly, no doubt leaving a mark.

I gasped and threw my head back locking my fingers in his hair. After he was satisfied with the mark he traveled down to my right nipple and flicked his tongue several times before wrapping his lips around it and sucking, eventually releasing it with an obscene pop. My teeth dug into my bottom lip as I muffled the load groan erupting in my throat. His mouth was glistening with spit as he looked up at me, "Don't hold back." He kneaded my other breast, "I want to hear how loud you can get."

He reached down and tugged my pants off, whipping them away with a swift yank. All that was left was my underwear. He ripped them off, a harsh tear heard through the room. My eyes widened but I was too lost in lust to care about them now.

His middle finger felt cold against my folds, moving it up and down harshly before shoving it into my hole. I moaned out as his finger came back out. "You're soaked," He chuckled darkly. He shoved his finger in again, this time pumping ferociously. A mixture of lewd squelches and my high pitched moans filled the room as he kept going. He added another finger, deliciously stretching me out as his palm slapped against me. His other finger rubbing my nipple.

My stomach knotted quickly as I thrust my hips up to feel him deeper. He suddenly stopped and pulled out. I sat up slightly, whining at the loss of stimulation.

He chuckled deeply. "Don't worry sweetheart, you'll cum. But when you do it'll be on my tongue." He shoved his fingers into my mouth and I began sucking on them, collecting all my juices with my tongue. Groaning against his fingers as our eyes were locked. His eyes were hooded with lust and his mouth agape, a grunt making it's way to his perfect pink lips.

"You seem to like your taste," he drew his hand back slowly trailing it down my body until it landed right above where I wanted him to be. He slowly backed up and leaned down, "Now it's my turn." Eyes never leaving mine as he became level with my core. My heart accelerating at the anticipation.

A cocky smirk adorned his face before he dove forward and licked a slow agonizing stripe up my slit, a loud moan escaping me. He put his hands on my thighs to spread them further to get a better angle.He started to move his tongue quicker, working it across. He was lapping at my folds like a starved man, moving his tongue to swirl around my clit before puckering his lips and sucking hard. "Fuck!" I screamed, I felt him smile against me before he shoved his tongue into my hole.

A pornographic moan elicited from my lips as I tried to thrust into him. He began tongue fucking me heatedly, his nose brushing against my clit as he worked. "Fuck daddy.."I groaned. This made him moan into me, sending vibrations all over my core as I moaned again. Moving back up to my bud he began to suck again as he shoved two fingers inside. "X-Xavier," I groaned out choppily. I felt the twisting build up start to form in my stomach as he kept working.  

"I'm close," I reached down and intertwined my hands in his hair, tugging him closer to me as I rode his face. My core rutting into his mouth. His hands hoisted my legs over his shoulders as he dove even closer, moving quicker than before as his fingers shook against my clit. His tongue diving deeper into me.

I threw my head back and scrunched my eyes shut as I let my release wash over me. Screaming out as his tongue stilled, letting all my cum seep down onto his tongue. He lapped up all of it before pulling back up. Lips glistening with my release as he swiped his tongue across them.

"Can you go again?" He leaned over and pushed the hair out of my face, the intimate gesture making my heart swell. I tilted my head to the side as I hoisted myself up reaching over and grabbing the impressive bulge fighting against his pants. My hand rubbing back and forth, only stopping to circle my thumb around the tip.

"I need you to fuck me," I stated. His mouth was agape and his eyes were feigning to close. "Your wish is my command," His cocky smirk displayed as he leaned back on his knees and popped the button on his pants. He stood up and gripped the zipper throwing them down, underwear included. My eyes were bulging as how beautifully big his dick was. Montana wasn't lying.

I got on my hands and knees and crawled over to the edge of the bed, mouth watering at the thought of bringing him between my lips. I leaned down, about to put the tip in my mouth but before I could he gripped my hair bringing me back up to face him.

"I'd love to see you choke on my cock but I need to be inside of you. Now." He said the last word so sternly it made me shiver. He gave me a rough kiss before pushing me back down onto my back.

The bed squeaked as he sunk back onto it, crawling over top of me. He looked primal, ready to ravage me at any second. "Are you on the pill?" He asked.

"Yes," I said quickly, the thought of him fucking me raw had me clenching around nothing. "Xavier," I whined, "Please cum inside me."

He grunted lowly, grabbing the head of his cock and running it across my clit and down to the center, stopping it at my soaked entrance. My stomach tensed as he hovered there. "So worked up," He chuckled proudly, "Don't worry baby, I'm going to fuck you so good." Without warning he dove inside of me in one fluid motion, making us both cry out at the sensation of my walls clenching around him.

"S-Shit!" He yelled, "You're so fucking tight." He pulled back slowly before bottoming out entirely. Both of us moaning as he administered hard thrusts repeatedly. His hands gripping my hips so tight I expected them to snap. Mine made there way to his back as I scratched it, gripping tighter with each thrust. "Y/n..."

He lifted my hips up into the air as he roughly slammed me down onto him repeatedly, the new angle changing the feeling entirely.Our skin slapping together was echoing through the room as he dove deeper, balls deep.

He wasn't letting down as I shrieked, dropping me down roughly onto the bed and grabbing my ankles, bending my knees into my chest. This new angle was even better. He pushed my legs back as far as they could go as he spit raunchily down onto my clit, the warm liquid oozing down onto our connection sent me into a spiral. The familiar clenching in my stomach came back as I hissed, "I-I'm going to cum."

"Hold on baby, me too." His thrusts got rougher as he rammed into me, pushing my legs so far back I knew they'd be sore in the morning. "Please daddy, fill me up." I moaned again as my walls tightened against him, he hissed in pleasure as he began to get sloppy, his release finally coming. "Okay," his breathing was heavy, "cum."

I let go as I let out another lewd moan, throwing my head back into the pillows and lazily rutting into him. Nearly passing out from the intensity of my orgasm. He let out a godly grunt as he pulled me as close as possible into him. His liquid spilling inside of me.

After a couple seconds he pulled out and replaced his cock with his fingers, gathering some of the release. He smirked as he brought it up to my mouth. Without hesitation I wrapped my tongue around his digits before puckering my lips and sucking the rest off. He looked down and tsked playfully. "There's still so much." I opened my mouth to say something but was stopped by him ducking back down and slurping it up. My legs were twitching before he finally brought his head back up.

He licked his lips before leaning over my fucked out body and kissing me again. He slid his tongue across mine, the mixture of our two releases mixing to make an intoxicating formula that made me want more. Unfortunately he pulled back, dropping himself beside me on the bed.

His breath was heavy as his chest rose quickly. "Y/n...that was wicked."

We both looked over at each other just taking in the moment as we scanned over each others features. His forehead glistening with sweat and his lips parted heavenly. He scooted closer, placing his hand on my stomach as he drew light circles. "That wasn't your first time right?"

My brows furrowed, almost offended before I flipped the switch and decide to mess with him. I looked away, pretending to be nervous as I fiddled with my hands, "Actually..." I looked back over at him with big doe eyes, "It was."

His eyes popped as his head shot forward, "Oh my god really?!" He began to get nervous, "If I would've know I would've.." I brought my hand to his mouth, shutting him up as I laughed. His pretty brows scrunching together in confusion.

"No you dweeb, I've had sex before." I laughed again, moving so now we were face to face. I smiled from ear to ear, loving his expression.

"I just thought with Margaret and all.." He trailed off, looking at me with red cheeks.

I laughed, "If she had it her way then yeah, but I follow my own rules." I turned on my back and looked at the ceiling my breathing finally starting to become normal as I came down from my high.

He brought his arm to my side as he carefully brought me into him, against his chest. I could feel his heart beating. I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythm calmly. Feeling hands come up to stroke my hair gently. I felt so content and I didn't want this moment to end.

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of loud footsteps coming closer.

We looked at each other wide eyed and afraid, quickly pulling the blanket to cover both of us as he squeezed me into him tightly.

The door opened and Trevor walked in, I gasped as I hugged Xavier tighter.

He flipped the switch on, turning around and looking directly at us. "Nicce." He hummed. "You guys better get dressed," He pointed over at me, "Your Mom's looking for you. And it's almost chow time." He smiled goofily before heading back out.

"Oh god," I mumbled, hoisting myself up. I scattered looking around the room for my clothes, grabbing my bra, shirt, pants, and picking up my torn underwear. I groaned as I crumbled them up and threw them at him. "Now I've got to go commando."

He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. "Hey, you won't hear me complaining." I squinted at him before getting dressed. His eyes burning into my skin as he watched me the entire time.

"Hey!" I swatted his leg, "You gotta get ready too!"

He jolted up and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me so I was straddling his waist. "You're distracting." Our noses were touching lightly as we smiled sweetly at each other. He plastered a kiss across my lips, one that was different than his previous lust filled smooches. This one was full of passion and was slower, savory. We both broke out into wide grins. "We gotta go handsome."

He groaned as I got up, snatching his clothes dramatically.

"Hey," I walked behind him, placing my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his waist, giving his shoulders and neck light kisses. "We've got all summer."

Taglist: @felicityofbakerstreet

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Stop

Part 17

Aftermath of everything so far. Slightly longer chapter here. No warnings I can think of? Formatting got weird and I'm too tired to fix it.

CLOSED list: @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @emjrabbitwolf @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

Arriving back into the apartment, they were greeted with a heated argument, Damian and the Kwamis dutifully holding off any attempts to convince them they should go after the two. Apparently, they felt the two were taking too long and they should find them now.

Making a snap decision, Marinette redirected them towards her room, ushering him into the bathroom where he allowed her to strip off the bloodied machetes, gun, and holsters. She pushed him towards the shower and walked back into her room, probably to clean and put away everything. 

Stripping down, he started up the shower and stepped in. From the moment the hot water hit his skin blood started raining down his body in rivlets, trailing across the tiles lazily into the drain. His skin prickled with it and he reached blindly until he found a washcloth to scrub at his skin, rubbing it raw. Only when the water went clear did he look for soap, intent on getting every trace of it off his skin despite his hands being figuratively dirtied in such a permanent way. Sure, he always believed some people should not be allowed to continue living after their heinous crimes against humanity. Believed the Joker deserved such a death more than anything for what he'd done to his lovely little soulmate and at such a young age. Had planned on doing exactly this. But believing such, even planning for it, and actually ending the life by your own hands were two different things. Knowing he was capable of such violence was frightening.

Hair clean, body clean, mouth clean, but soul throbbing, he stood staring off into the distance for some time before blinking away the water falling across his face. Reaching out, he shut off the water and grabbed for the towel he noticed placed over a rack. Drying off quickly and wrapping it about him, he opened the curtain, first noticing his bloodied clothes nowhere to be seen and secondly, Marinette standing in front of the mirror, staring at her own reflection with a blank look.

It took a moment for him to realise what was wrong: she hadn't seen herself in three years now. Neither had he.

Moving up behind her he rested his hands on her shoulders and finally settled his gaze on himself, angling to see more.

His hair was still black, curly and haphazard but with an added streak of white in the very front, eyes a strange teal color instead of their steady blue from before. Sharp jawline with a small scar going up the right cheek by an inch. His neck had a weird mark across it as though hit in a way it never fully recovered the skin from. Realizing his body didn't have any breasts to cover with the towel as he had become adjusted to, he lowered it and refastened it at his waist, revealing a long white scar going down his torso, a cross-section following across his chest. More scars and places that were obviously stitched back together littered his sides and he was certain the legs must be in a similar state.

Tearing his gaze away, he looked back at Mari, noting how she poked at a scar on her collarbone, easily exposed in the top she wore. She had changed out of the clothes he came in, obviously deciding she didn't care how much the red hoodie she must of pulled from the dresser no longer fit her along with a pair of black boxers that looked more like baggy sleep shorts on her.

"You should get dressed. Let them know we're back," she whispered.

"They can wait a moment. The kwamis have it under control," he murmured back, reluctant to face them.

She reached back and laced their fingers, "We won't get into it tonight. Just let them know it's over, see if one would be willing to get your suitcase while making a late dinner, then kick them out for the night."

"The night?"

"We were gone quite a while. Not only with the mission. I lead you around the city afterwards before bringing you back here. You weren't entirely present yet. It's six pm now."

He hummed his understanding, "By the time dinner is made and they've come back, it'll be closer to seven thirty or eight, if they do return. Dinner and getting them to stop asking questions could take another hour or so, plus settling Damian I'm sure. We'll want to sleep after."

"Exactly," a strained smile crossed her face.

"Or we could kick them out and order delivery."

"Jason," she admonished.

"I'm serious. They should understand. We've all had our issues, we'll talk with them when we're ready. Sure, they won't like it, but they'll get it. Just work with the kid tonight. That's enough for one day."

Sighing, she nodded and followed him back into the bedroom where she pulled out black sweat pants and a soft, gray shirt with long sleeves, handing them to him to put on while she went over to the side table to retrieve the beaded choker to return to Chloe. He realized Longg must've went out to let the others know they were back, seeing as the little dragon was nowhere to be seen. That would certainly explain how much quieter the apartment seemed.

Finishing pulling on the shirt, he grabbed Mari's hand and lead the way out the door, the others locking onto them instantly. Their eyes seemed curiously cautious and Jason took a deep breath to steel himself before speaking to the room at large.

"We're fine, everything is fine, Robin is safe and free. We'll talk about it later, when everything is more settled."

"You're about to kick us out," Kagami stated.

Jason offered up a little smirk, "Pretty much."

"Fucking figures. Alright, but we Will be talking about all of this later."

"Sure, sure. Could you do us a favor though?"

"What's that," Juleka piped up with a dry tone.

"Transport her suitcase here? Her old clothes don't quite match her figure anymore," he teased, gesturing to Mari who gave an offended huff.

"Fit just fine this morning."

"Sorry, Sugar."

Giving a snort of laughter, Marc nodded, "Yeah, I can help with that. Same place as always for Kaalki?"

"Yeah, Kagami has him in hers in case."

"Got it. We'll leave you be."

"Thanks."

The group walked towards the door, shooting final glances back at them, as though to reassure themselves the two were safe in the room and not moving anywhere.

Kagami whispered something to Tikki and with a quick nod, the goddess took the earings and flew over the Jason.

"I'm staying the night with you two," she stated firmly.

"Supervision?"

"Something like that," she smiled, "they'll be back in the morning by the way."

"Figured."

The door shut behind the last of them and the tension in their shoulders finally dropped.

Jason felt a small hand grip at his sleeve and turned to see Damian looking up at him with concern, Plagg nestled into his hair.

"Are you stable now?"

"Yeah Kid, I'm good. Mari and I were thinking of ordering takeout. Any idea what you'd want?" 

His face went blank and he swiveled to look at Marinette, who quirked an amused eyebrow, only to yank his hand away like it was on fire.

"I'm sure whatever you pick will be adequate," he huffed and made his way back over to the couch.

They watched him go then turned to meet each other's eyes only to laugh.

"He's fun to mess with. And we're not even trying," he commented.

"Enjoy it while you can, he'll get used to you soon enough."

With that they started to move around each other, one calling for food, the other going over to Damian, attempting to find some sense of normal in their day.

Preparing for bed that night some hours later, Damian already used to Marinette's relapses and not asking for the details of his own and thus easily swayed to head into his room for sleep, they hesitated. He could tell she wanted to be separated as little as he did, but he couldn't convince himself to move. She lurched forward to take his hand and lead him back into her room, closing the door behind them and heading to the bed.

"I would say you should buy me dinner first, but you sort of did," he offered playfully, aiming to relieve the tension.

"Hush you," she rolled her eyes, shaking her head and crawling up onto the bed, still holding onto him so he had no choice but to follow.

When they had settled in, facing inward to keep the other in sight he found his voice once more, "Is it always like that?"

She looked down at the bed spread, tracing fingers along the creases, "Not always," she started only to fade off on the end, "Eventually you gain more control. Can hold them off and silence them for a while. My last relapse was quite a few months ago."

"Until the cafe."

"Yeah."

"The switch threw you off enough to lose it."

"Not entirely."

"But you said you relapsed."

"It's different for me. I've had this inside me for over two years now. It's not that I relapsed per say. I simply heard them raging, felt the gas enter my lungs and decided to take a backseat on that one. I couldn't have regained control at that point, but letting it consume me was a choice."

"I have zero control over this and you're deciding to let it consume you?"

"If I hadn't, I'd have held back. You'll learn to control it, probably better than I can."

"How."

"It hasn't touched your soul. Plus, I know how it works and can guide you. That's two things I can't say for myself. You could see what was happening when you went after the Joker, yes? Were able to respond to my voice without attacking?"

He gave a slight nod.

"Some of my relapses during missions lead to me blacking out until the end. Once the madness settled, I'd come to and remember everything at once. You're already so much further than I was."

Sighing through his nose, he wrapped an arm across her back and pulled her forward towards himself. He allowed her to adjust and nuzzled the top of her head.

"The jade eyed woman. Talia, I assume. What I saw of her…"

"She took me in while I was rehabilitating in the hospital. I could barely walk two feet. She took me back to the underground city, dunked me in the pit to heal my body. Comforted me after my first kills, trained me, put me through lessons," she spoke, voice going soft and wistful in remembrance. She took a deep breath before continuing, "It took months to discover her motives."

"Damian?"

"Yeah."

"Will they come for you?"

"I'm not sure. Someone attacked the night we escaped. I left indications of Dami on an unidentifiable corpse. Along with the high death toll taken on the rest of the place, it might be believable. Unless we make our presence known, it's probably safe. I keep an eye out either way."

"And Talia?" He asked, though feeling he knew the answer already.

"She's," she stopped, shaking in his grasp, "She's gone. Died in the- the invasion. Her body was cr-crumpled up in a pile with her p-private guard."

"I'm sorry Mari. You shouldn't have had to go through that."

"She's gone," she whispered and he felt his shirt begin to dampen.

"I'm sorry" he murmured back, unsure how to comfort her and only holding tighter as she began to sob into his shoulder, clutching at him.

"I wish I di-didn't know," she squeaked.

He ducked in further to nuzzle at her head once more, letting her more unintelligible mumbles fade into him, just holding her through it until finally her breathing settled out.

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

At that moment a knock sounded softly at the door for the third time that day. As she rubbed carefully at her eyes, he twisted to look over his shoulder as the door opened. Damian held himself tense, gripping the door knob and biting his lip, though he could see the pleading in the shake of his eyes and hands. Mari sat up partially, leaning against his side to look over him.

"Dami? Did you need something?"

The kid pulled the door closer to him, focusing on her solely, not responding.

"Come here, dear. You can sleep with us tonight."

He visibly perked up but then darted his eyes over to Jason with hesitation.

"Come on kid," he urged, turning away and settling once more as Mari stayed propped on his side, urging Damian forward. He heard the softest of little steps inch around the bed and suddenly the kid was crawling up on Mari's other side. She twisted and pulled Damian into her arms, settling him carefully. Only when he seemed to relax did Jason feel her slowly tug backwards until she pressed back against him. 

Jason curled himself around her back, pressing his face into the back of her shoulder. Opening his eyes, he met cautious green eyes peering up at him. Huffing a breath through his nose at the kid, he watched the eyes blink slightly before they became more calm and accepting. He ducked back forward and closed his eyes and Jason followed suit. It took less time to fall asleep that night than it had in years.

…

In the morning, he watched her usher the kid into the bathroom to clean up, as he headed into the kitchen to start on breakfast. Marinette came over and settled into a bar stool, watching as he moved about, speaking up whenever he couldn't find something. 

It was as he began to plate up omelets that the door lock clicked up and he grabbed her wrist before she could move. Trixx flew through the door and sped towards the fruit on the table just as the door burst open.

"Alright. You had your rest. It's morning. Spill," Chloe demanded as she dropped into the seat next to Marinette, pulling a plate towards herself, knowing both the occupants to be amazing cooks. The others filed in at a more regular pace, offering their greetings and settling around the place.

"I was the former Robin," Jason stated.

"Okay so seeing a new one set you off then?" Marc guessed.

"I was captured, tortured, and Mari was killed by the Joker."

Juleka leaned forward at the reminder, eyes widening in realization, "Joker was doing a callback to your death with your replacement."

"Pretty much," Marinette piped up, eating her breakfast and turning as Damian entered the room and pushing a plate in front of him as he sat down.

"You killed the Clown then, yes?" Kagami more stated than asked. She received a nod.

"And the new Robin?"

"Safe. We didn't let him see the Joker die, but he certainly knows it. Ran off to Batman presumably." 

"And you're just okay with this?" Chloe huffed.

"Not even slightly."

"So what's the plan then?"

"First we need to know more, an insider's perspective."

"Alfred?"

"Alfred."

"Who's Alfred?" Juleka asked, more than confused at this point.

"The man behind the whole operation. Batman and Robin wouldn't even function if it weren't for his existence."

"Luckily he also loved us like we were his own and probably feels just as protective over the new Robin."

"And he's not over Batman?"

"Oh he certainly is, but Alfred always stands against Bats when he's in the wrong. Keeps him in line. I'm sure he didn't approve of another child taking the mask."

"He didn't approve of us taking the mask."

"So who will contact him then?"

"I will," Jason dropped the dishes into the soapy water he'd started, moving aside as Marc began to wash, Kagami dried and Damian directed on where things went.

"You want me with you for it?"

"Yeah, you'll want to know what he says."

Marinette followed him into the living room where he asked for her phone and listened to its soft ringing.

"Master Jason."

"Hey Alfred. Guess the replacement told you then?"

"He only gave a description actually."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I knew."

"Of course you did," Jason gave a light laugh.

"I presume Miss Marinette is with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. We're here."

"If I might ask, which of you died that night?" Jason could hear the whisper of a tremble in the older man's voice.

"Mari."

"I thought she might have." A silence settled over them for a moment, "To what do I owe this call to?"

"Marinette needed your input before stealing the new Robin."

"I'm not going to steal him," she argued to which he gave her a look.

"We're pretty pissed, to be honest," he corrected.

"It was not his intention to replace either of you."

"That is rather hurtful, but that's not really it," he grumbled.

"Wasn't one bird dying enough for him? He's going to endanger another?" Mari put in, loud enough for the man to hear.

"Ah, I see. In that case, I fully support your plan."

"Just like that?"

"He's using the young Master as an emotional crutch. Otherwise he neglects him entirely. It is not healthy for either of them."

"I fucking knew it."

"Language."

"Sorry."

"It will take time to convince the newest Robin to abandon him. I will keep you both updated on the situation from my end."

"Thank you Alfred."

"I expect I will be invited over to catch up."

"Of course, whenever you have time, our door will always be open."

"Lovely. I should wonder if perhaps he will take to you faster than we expect. Marinette was never mentioned."

"Really."

"Indeed. I believe patrol is set for nine tonight if you would like to make them aware of her."

"Perhaps we will. Talk to you soon."

Make sure you do."

"Love you Alfred. Goodbye."

With that, he hung up, turning to her. They met eyes, knowing something had to come of this.

"Alright, so what's the plan?"

[werejusttouchingeachother]

Divine

Req:  would you mind writing a Sub!Ten smut where reader gives them a handjob and it goes from there? The scenario can be whatever you feel is best but the switch (dom+) in me has been quaking +  something with a really dom reader + any whiny subby nct or exo member that first comes to mind? + pegging

Summary: art student!Ten gets assigned a project with you for your Photography class and although his ideas for the concept initially make you wary, you eventually see the silver lining once he invites you back to his place

Pairing: sub!Ten x dom!reader (both are bi/queer/sexually fluid)

Genre: smut (m)

Words: 6015

Tags: nudity, cursing, handjob, edging, pegging

A/N: I combined quite a few repeated reqs I’ve been getting for sub!nct and pegging in specific so sorry if this took way too long! I haven’t gone full feral dom in this the way I like to (because wbk im a hardcore dom) since i’ve noticed many on here have boundaries with it/not used to it so since this is my first proper sub!member fic, I’m just easing into it ok--i’ll go harder or less next time depending on the response this gets

You raise your hand to knock on the burgundy door, hesitation creeping up your mind and effectively stopping you. Your fist hovers mid-air as you straighten your dress with your free hand and pull out your phone to check your makeup again.

When Ten approached you at the library yesterday, you certainly hadn’t expected him to call you back to his apartment.

Well, then again, you hadn’t expected a lot of what Ten had said at the library when he sat across from you while you were working on your assignment.

Chittaphon Ten is nothing less of popular at your university—with a double major in Art and Dance, a minor in Photography, it’s no surprise that both students and faculty were always constantly in awe of how he seemed to always have his shit together, scoring impressive grades, being extremely sociable and generally was the most well-rounded person that you’d ever seen.

His crazy attractive features weren’t a drawback either.

Like most girls, you admired him from afar without ever making a move. Not because you were too shy to do anything—Lord knows you weren’t, and so did a good majority of the students who you’d been with—but because he was always surrounded by people, the life of every party he went to, the one who never had a problem getting laid and the one whose attention required too much effort.

Which is why you were extremely surprised when Ten sought you out at the library yesterday. He’d called your name, which you didn’t even know he knew until then. It made you recall the first time he’d said it—one of the many faces that you’d been introduced to at the freshmen’s party during your first year at university.

He’d been the cool friendly popular sophomore, a beacon to all the lost freshmen and you’d been one of them as you exchanged names, later drinks and then, you were pretty sure, a tipsy dance together towards the end of the night.

That was the extent of your interaction—with the exception of the friendly smiles and casual ‘Hey’s as you passed each other in the hallway. What’s even sadder is that most of the memories from that night aren’t even clear to you due to all the shots you had downed—it’s only when you saw all the blurry pictures on Instagram the next day that you realised he’d danced with his hands around you but you couldn’t remember even feeling them, nevertheless the dance.  

Needless to say, Ten was probably the only guy to ever make you reconsider the decision to drink at parties.

Regardless of all this, you hadn’t expected to be paired with him in your Photography class that you two happened to share this semester. You never thought he’d attend much since it was only an elective—moreover, attendance wasn’t even compulsory—but you should have known better, of course perfect Ten was there.

And of course, on the one day that you’d skipped classes, you and Ten had gotten a paired assignment.

“The concept,” Ten said in a hushed voice as he leaned over the table at the library, making your gaze unknowingly rivet to his mouth. You had to force yourself to keep your eyes on his as he continued, “The concept for the assignment is Biblical influence on art.”

Still, you’d nodded. You’d shrugged it off in stride.

At least, you did until Ten said the following words:

“I have an idea. Everyone else is going to be at churches and cemeteries and cathedrals and basilicas. For the architecture and lightings. I was thinking, since we both are studying Art, we could paint on you to make you look like a Michelangelo sculpture.”

You’d blinked at him, wondering if you had misheard because he was whispering so lowly. You’d opened your mouth and closed it again, gaping like a fish. When he’d seen your obvious confusion, he repeated the last part, making your eyebrows furrow and then inhale sharply as you realised he was serious.

“Just hear me out,” Ten started before you could start yelling in the middle of the university library. “Think about it. No one would do such a unique concept.”

“Yeah, because it’s crazy?”

“Its art, Y/N. Crazy is kind of what gets you recognition.”

“This is an assignment that isn’t even accounted for twenty percent, Ten. It’s not even going to get published. Make it make sense,” you said in a flat voice.

“Imagine if it does, though, because it’s that good,” he muttered, widening his eyes at you to further emphasise his point.

You didn’t agree. You didn’t disagree either but the way you’d shaken your head and quickly stormed out of the library with an excuse that you needed to get to class let him know that you weren’t exactly in favour of the whole idea.

Then he’d called that night. It was later than you’d expect anyone to call—especially to discuss an assignment—but for some reason, it had worked.

You’re not sure why you agreed. Maybe it was because he’d actually made some good points over the call.

Or maybe because his voice had sounded so lulling over the phone, you’d found yourself nodding along without even paying attention to what he’d been suggesting. You agreed to meet him after your last evening class the next day at his apartment to ‘get it over with as soon as possible’.

Right now, you stood outside his door and tried to recall what all he had said last night. You were wearing a wrap-around dress that dropped only till your knees—the easiest thing to get in and out of—and had washed your hair so that it hung around your face. You’d scrubbed and shaved every surface of your skin until you were polished and squeaky clean, smelling like fresh soap and your mildly-scented lavender perfume.

You took a breath and checked your reflection for the millionth time in just half an hour on your phone’s screen before sighing and knocking on his door.

There was a shuffle of steps and then the door opened, Ten poking his head out and smiling at you.

“Hey,” he greeted softly and held the door open. “Come on in.”

You slowly entered, your mind racing with multiple thoughts as you closed the door behind you. You heard him mumble that he’ll be right back and to make yourself comfortable as he headed to a room at the end of the hallway.

You entered the first room to your left that he’d gestured at, your eyes quickly scanning the place. You immediately notice how he’d drawn all the curtains open and can’t help but smile at the very obvious attempt to have cleaned up—everything had been pushed to the corners of the room and things were thrown haphazardly to a side to clear the floor.

Biting back a smile, you turn right as he enters and hold your hands up to stop him before he starts speaking.

“Before anything,” you start, lowering your raised hands when you notice he’s listening. “Explain to me entirely what your plan is for the project. All of it.”

He nods and grabs his phone, scrolling through his gallery. You listen attentively as Ten explains how he thought it would be cool if he painted your entire body like a marble sculpture with a sheet draped over your body—painting over the sheet as well for a hyper-realistic effect while you posed like a statue.

You bit down on your lip at the idea of getting naked in his apartment with only a slinky garment to cover you, eyes moving from his phone’s screen to meet his. You can see the question in them and he even gives you a polite smile as if to tell you that you can always refuse if you’re uncomfortable with it.

But beneath that, you can see the challenging glint: he is daring you to back down because he knows you’re on unfamiliar grounds with him. He’d surely been naked many times in his apartment with several mutual friends of yours and so had you back in your own place but never with each other.

And maybe it was that or maybe this exciting air of ‘what if this went somewhere?’ and ‘what if one of us leaned in closer?’—but you didn’t want to back down.

So you gave him a firm nod, relishing in the way his eyes slightly widened at your affirmation as you turned to head for the bathroom that you’d seen when walking in. You turn at the last second, right as you’re near the door to see Ten staring at you as if baffled that you’re actually agreeing to this and you ask as nonchalantly as possible, “Ten? The sheet?”    

“What?” He blinks before realising. “Oh, right, right, sorry.”

He grabs an ivory-coloured sheet that laid neatly over the back of a chair and hands it over to you. You still as your eyes fall on the silky satin material you held in your hands, the fabric almost slipping from your fingers because of how smooth it was.

You slowly raise your eyes from the sheet to ask him what exactly you were supposed to do with it and stop when you notice that his eyebrow is raised, expression apprehensive as if to wait for you to drop the sheet and leave his apartment.

Plastering on an overly sweet smile, you nod in thanks and turn to the bathroom.

Once inside, you stare at your reflection in the mirror as you give yourself a pep-talk.

You weren’t backing down. There was just no way—especially when there was a good chance that this was all in your head and you were just making it into a bigger deal than what it actually is. It could just be about the project and Ten’s perfectionistic tendency wanting the highest grade.

So you slowly disrobed from your floral wraparound dress, hanging it over the hook on the back of the bathroom door. You hadn’t put much makeup on except for some gloss on your lips and some mascara—not wanting to be completely barefaced but at the same time, not going fully out.

Taking a deep breath, you take the satin sheet and stare at it as you contemplate how to wrap it around yourself.

You settle for wrapping it around your body, under the arm similar to how you usually do with a towel. You try to wrap it twice but the material is hardly enough to envelop more than once fully around your frame.

You stare at yourself in the mirror and have to force yourself to not get back into your comfy dress and jump out the bathroom window. The material clings to your body like a second skin and despite being layered twice around your front, your nipples still poke through due to how thin and supple the satin is.

Sighing and straightening your back, you turn to make sure that the knot at the back is fastened tightly and feel glad that you’d had the sense to shave your entire body spotless earlier today before coming here.

You meet your gaze in the mirror one last time, narrowing your eyes slightly as you take a deep breath and get your game face on. You walk to the door and step out, immediately feeling goosebumps rise on your skin at the sudden change in temperature from the cool bathroom.

You re-enter the hall and immediately notice Ten fight every instinct in his body to react at your appearance as his eyes swiftly rake over your entire form before quickly flitting back to your eyes.

Raising an eyebrow at him, you stand in front of him and he hesitates before finally saying, “Uh. You. That’s not actually how I thought you’d wear it.”

You narrow your eyes at him, fighting against the urge to cross your arms over your chest defensively because you knew that would only draw more attention towards your breasts.

“What did you think then?” You ask in a deadpan tone and Ten grabs his phone from the table, showing you an image of a marbled woman sculpture that had a similarly thin cloth adorning her body except it fell over one shoulder and was held tight by pressing down the other arm. Moreover, she was postured by leaning her hips against a short pedestal and arching her back with her head raised upwards.

The garment covered her chest and stopped short at the very top of her thighs—barely covering anything but exposing her curvy hips, thighs and sides in their full glory.

You unknowingly release a loud sigh of frustration before nodding. Determined, you reach back to unknot the cloth but Ten stops you with his hand, saying, “Wait, its fine.”

Your hand is caught underneath his, and you look at him with confusion. “What?”

“It’s okay,” he repeats, lowering his hand from your shoulder. “This is better cause I have to paint your shoulders anyway and they’re both revealed this way. We’ll paint your entire body first before putting the satin over it and paint that last.”

“Um,” you say softly, nodding as he gestures for you to sit on the chair. You slowly sit down and contemplate crossing your legs but decide against it as that would cause the material to hike up further than it already is. “Okay.”

Ten stands above you, dipping a brush with thick bristles into a palette. You keep your eyes on his face, watching him carefully and don’t fail to see the way his breath slightly catches when he notices your intense gaze on him. You try to bite back a smirk as he leans over you and presses the cool brush against your shoulder, lightly stroking it over the skin in an experimental brushstroke.

“Could you lean your head back?” He asks you, his voice considerably lower.

“Mhm, sure,” you softly hum in agreement as you arch your neck back, noticing the way his grip falters on the brush as he presses the brush more firmly against your shoulder. The contact with your skin mixed with the air that had suddenly grown thick around the two of you made slight bumps rise along your arms and you feel Ten’s gaze dart to your face, having noticed the effect.

Yeah. This wasn’t about the project. Your senses were tingling and even if you knew nothing else, you could smell sexual tension from miles away.

You deliberately sigh softly, your chest heaving with the release of air and feel the brush still against your skin again. You sneak a look at Ten and notice that he’s completely stopped faking it, watching your face carefully.

You lower your head and turn it in his direction, feeling both your breaths intermingle from how close your faces are. You’re just about to lean in when he says, “It’s not working.”

You blink, momentarily taken aback. “What?”

“The paint.” You glance down at your shoulder to see that the colour was slightly faded and almost runny, not in the thick layers that they should be with the amount of strokes Ten had just made.

“Your skin,” he said, thinking as he leaned back slightly, promptly breaking the moment that you just had. “There’s something that’s not allowing the paint to settle. Did you put something before you came here?”

You think for a moment before answering, “Uh, yeah, moisturiser. Lotion. Is that it?”

Ten swallowed thickly, nodding at your words as he stepped back. “Do you think you can remove it with body wash or soap? I can’t paint your skin otherwise and it needs to be layered thickly for the marble effect.”

You stare at Ten, eyes narrowed as you tried to figure what game he was playing here. You’re almost tempted to just stand up and grab him, press him against the desk and kiss him hungrily.

Did he just want you to shower here? Was he going to walk in? Or was this to just have you smelling like the same sweet-scented soap that he always smelled like?

Or was this really because he was concerned with the project and didn’t want your Vaseline bodycream to stand in the way of a perfect grade?

Did he even want to sleep with you in the first place?

You stand up abruptly, unable to take the million thoughts flooding into your head. Turning around, you made a beeline for the bathroom again while mentally cursing him.

If he was playing hard-to-get, this was the longest you’d ever held out for someone you were interested in sleeping with, despite how much you loved the game.

You’re Y/N. Sure, Ten had a reputation as the campus heartthrob with nights of guaranteed fun and pleasure but so did you—you had entire groups of people who would attest to your skills in the bedroom.

Except you didn’t know right now. The signals you’d been receiving all night were mixed and you couldn’t tell reality anymore from your own fantasies of taking Ten and having him in your own way.

You wished you were right—that he was really interested in sleeping with you. Because you couldn’t get the pretty images of Ten whining and mewling softly out of your head, reminiscing the way his Adam’s apple had bobbed nervously every time he swallowed when he noticed your gaze, loving the way he’d slightly faltered as you’d breathed softly.

You wanted to ruin him so bad—you could feel your core clenching with desire just from the thought of it.

You don’t realise you hadn’t closed the door behind you and it’s only when you turn around, catching Ten standing at the door that you realise.

You stare at him, feeling a slight tingle run through you as you gazed at him. You could see your own reflection on the mirror from your peripheral as Ten leaned on the wall beside it, his eyes transfixed on you.

“How is it that we’ve never ran in the same circles?” He asks, cocking his head.

Is he finally taking the bait?

You smile at his words, crossing your arms on purpose this time. “What do you mean?”

He falters slightly and you know it’s to fight the urge to lower his gaze from your face. He clears his throat, saying slowly, “I mean, we're both...”

“Hoes?” You offer, raising an eyebrow.

Ten blinks, surprised at your word choice. “I was going to say ‘the same’ but uh, sure, I guess that applies too.”

You chuckle, leaning your hip against the sink as you grin at him. “It’s cause we run in different circles that rarely interact with each other and the ones that do are comparatively lesser.”

Ten frowned at that, throwing your earlier question back at you. “What do you mean?”

“You fuck more guys and I fuck more girls.”

Ten’s eyes shot open, a light brush creeping up his cheeks at your bluntness and making you smirk slightly.

You think for a second, remembering all the times you’d spent with girls who were switches or leaned more towards dom. “You’ve slept with Amber, haven’t you?”

He nodded. “Taeyong?”

You nod. “Hwasa?”

“Of course. Mark?”

“Duh. Dahyun?”

“Obviously.”

You smile, glancing at the mirror as you tuck your hair behind your ear. “All right, then. I’ll shower now.”

You start to close the door but his hand is quick to grab your arm, stopping you effectively. You lift your head quickly to meet his gaze, able to smell the paint that was lingering on his clothes and unable to think with the need to just kiss him.

But you had to think, you had to control. He’d toyed with you enough so it’s only fair that you return the favour.

He raised an eyebrow at you in disbelief, unable to say the words that he’s thinking.

“You’re…” He pauses before hesitantly asking, “That’s it? You’re just going to shower?”

You furrow your eyebrows at him, playing genuinely confused. “... Yeah? I asked all that cause I was curious and I never knew you were such a power bottom. So are both Mark and Taeyong so I’m guessing that didn’t work well for you. Unlike the girls you slept with, who are all switches.”

He nods, his fingers still wrapped around your forearm. “I know. But they never... they never...”

He trails off and your eyes widen as you realise what he’s trying to say. “Whoa. What? Really?”

“What’s that expression supposed to mean?” Ten demands, narrowing his eyes at you. “You dommed Mark and Taeyong?”

“No,” you scowled before reluctantly explaining, “I mean I did. But not as much as I wanted to. They chickened out in the last second and we just fucked in missionary.”

Ten hesitates, his tongue darting out to lick his lower lip nervously. “How... how much do you want to?”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, you feel your heart skip a beat, a sense of excitement suddenly rushing through your blood. Your eyes are transfixed on his lips, now glistening with his saliva and you can’t help but imagine them parted wide open, gasping and moaning.

“Why?” You ask, your voice husky with arousal as you lower your lashes at him. “How far do you want me to go?”

“How far can you go?”

You raise your eyebrow challengingly. “Farther than Dahyun or the others would ever dare going.”

He grabs your waist then and your hands are already on his shoulders, slamming him back onto the door.

Your mouths meet heatedly and he moans as you press your body completely up against him.

Ten’s hands are gripping your hips tightly as you trail your one hand down his chest, between the two of you. Your hand passes over the waistband of his sweatpants and you palm his growing erection roughly. Ten gasps aloud and the sound is music to your ears as you take the opportunity to slip your tongue inside his parted lips.

Your fingers grip his length over the soft material of his pants and he’s twitching even with the minimal contact. Ten’s hand grabs your neck and pulls you away enough to breathe heavily, “Bedroom.”

“Yes, let’s go,” you mutter hurriedly and you grab his hand, pulling him in the direction of what you assumed to be the bedroom—the only other room in the small apartment.

You sit on the edge of the bed and yank him to you, loving the way a soft gasp leaves his mouth as he almost stumbles into your lap. Hesitantly he sits on your thighs and you shake your head, noticing that he still had his sweatpants on.

“Take the clothes off, sweetheart,” you say sweetly but with enough firmness to immediately make him get off your lap and peel his shirt off. You lean back with your hands on the bed to support you as you stare at him, watching him as he stripped.

You stand up when he’s bare in front of you, taking his hand and pushing him onto the bed before crawling on top of him.

Ten sits on the edge of the bed with you on his lap and you place your knees on either side of his thighs. You grab the hair on the back of his head, gripping the locks tightly in your fingers to yank his head back roughly and quickly move your mouth around his slender throat.

It doesn’t take long to find the sweet spot that has him moaning, his chest jerking up with his gasps at your relentless lips. You lick a stripe from his ear to his clavicle, sucking on the soft flesh where his shoulder and neck meets.

Ten's whimpers are the prettiest sound you’ve ever heard, his fingers having bunched up the satin sheet around you as he grips it tightly. The material gives away easily and next thing you know, cool air is hitting your skin as the satin is now fisted in his grip. Your legs are splayed over his, feeling his warm skin against yours as you kiss around his neck. You lower your mouth to his clavicle, sucking on the skin enough to leave bruises that you’re sure will darken by tomorrow as you mark him. Ten’s head is thrown back in pleasure as you leave hickeys all over his throat and you use the distraction to slowly roll your hips, rubbing your core over his growing erection. Ten gasps at the sudden sensation and you smirk against his skin, pulling him back hurriedly by his shoulders.

“Y/N,” his voice is a shaky whisper as they leave his lips and you hum in response, kissing him again deeply in a way that let him know you were going to absolutely devour him. Your hands find his hair again and you hold him firmly to you, moving your lips against his and letting your tongue explore the warmth of his mouth in a way that left him dazed and breathless when you finally pulled away.

You settled on his knees, leaving enough space between your bodies for your hands to quickly reach down and wrap your fingers around his length. Ten is deliciously responsive—bucking into your touch, hands reflexively reaching out to grip the sheets behind him tightly and moaning softly.

You’re certain that he can see how lust-crazed you are with the way he looks underneath you, his eyes all big and pleading as he waits patiently for you to move your hand, to go faster, to do anything.

So you do.

You’re gentle at first, barely doing much as you swipe your thumb over the pink head. You take your time, admiring the smoothness and length of his dick, swallowing the urge to just take him into your mouth already as you move the pads of your fingers lightly over his length and stroke him leisurely. You watch his face as you do so, loving how Ten’s eyes dilate with the frustration or pleasure or both, you weren’t sure. As his breaths quicken, you remove your hand and smirk while lazily using just your finger to stroke up and down, loving the way he was twitching even with just a single digit on him.

His whines grow louder and you finally give in, wrapping your hand fully around him, suddenly moving it up and down so quickly that it had him breathing harder as your pace suddenly transitioned. Ten’s hands gently came up to hold your hips and he raised his torso from the bed to lean his head into your neck, warm heavy breaths hitting your skin. He whimpered as you lowered your other hand to his balls, fondling them while stroking his erection. His chest started heaving and you could tell he was close from the soft “ah’s” that were leaving his lips, almost in a way that made you think he didn't know he was making them. His eyes were closed tightly, head now leaned back and fingers clenching the sheets so hard that his knuckles were white and you can’t recall when he took his hands away from your waist and pulled his head back from your neck.

You watched him carefully, feeling yourself grow wetter as he came closer to his high and right when he twitched in your hand and his chest jerked up, his entire skin flushing as he panted, you immediately stopped and pulled your hand away completely, disengaging contact.

Ten’s eyes shoot open and you have to bite back a smile at the way he looks utterly breathless and crestfallen at the stolen orgasm.

You take a breath as you crawl over his body, pushing him back by his shoulders and resuming the kisses on his throat and neck. You let your hand tease up his stomach and chest, feeling the way his slender body shivers beneath your fingers at even the slightest feather-touch as you mutter lowly into his ear, “Where are your toys?”

“Bedside drawer,” he whispers breathily and you pull your mouth away from the reddening skin of his neck as you move across the bed to the small wooden drawers.

You grab the strap-on that you found and the bottle of flavoured-lube next to it, closing the drawers shut as you keep them on the bed. Your eyes fall on the beige satin lying at the foot of the bed where it had slipped from Ten’s fingers and you reach across the bed for the material.

Ten watches you with his chest still heaving slightly as he tries to steady his irregular breathing and you grab his wrists, pulling them above his head and binding them together with the same satin that had been around you only an hour earlier.

You adjust on his lap so that your slit is perfectly aligned with his dripping member, enjoying the way he breathed harder as he felt your heat. You moved your hips in torturously slow circles over his length, sliding it up and down as you watched it glisten beneath you with both your fluids while you busied your hands by rubbing the lube in between them and over the strap-on.

“Fuck,” Ten moans aloud and you almost moan in response at how glorious he sounds—his angelic voice cursing, all soft and desperate for you.

You slid down his body and Ten hissed as your hands that were now cool because of the lube made contact with his cock. The head was flushed an angry red and you almost felt sorry at how sensitive he was already despite not even having gone as hard as you usually do.

Ten’s hands are fisted tightly, fingernails digging into his palms as you support yourself above him with both your hands on his shoulders while you kept rotating your hips over him. His eyes close as you grinded slightly against the tip, spreading your thighs and pushing a bit harder so that the head of his erection would slip inside your slick walls just the briefest fraction before you moved again.

Ten whispers curses again and you finally lower your hand again to wrap your fingers around him.

“Ah!” Ten groans as he bucks reflexively into your hand and you don’t give him a second as you start moving your hand over his length at an almost merciless speed, stroking him quickly and roughly. Ten’s eyes blow wide open at your sudden intense stimulations and lower your other hand down further, feeling his pink hole.

The lube in your fingers helps you to easily stick your finger inside and you feel your own arousal grow as he clenches tightly around your single digit while your hand still strokes him to another orgasm. Hearing his breaths grow quicker as he nears his high, you gradually decrease the speed of your hand while still fucking him open with two fingers now.

Ten is mewling and whining on the sheets now, arms slightly squirming to touch himself for relief when you denied him yet another orgasm. His thighs move under you and you narrow your eyes at him.

“Keep moving and I’ll never let you cum,” you warn and he immediately stills at your words, his entire body going still beneath you. You smile slightly in approval at his compliance and lean down to pepper his chest with kisses.

Ten’s breath echoes softly around his cosy bedroom as your mouth finds his nipple, your tongue darting out to circle the nub in quick motions timed with the pace of your one hand moving on his member and the other fucking him open. You look up to see Ten’s eyes roll back in his head at the overstimulation, back arching off the mattress and you immediately stop your ministrations on his cock, sitting up properly to not miss the reaction.

And its priceless.

Ten’s face is redder than you’d ever seen it, a delicious blush spreading over his entire cheeks, neck and down to his chest and you notice how his eyes are slightly teary and unfocused.

You lower your face to his then, pressing a reassuring kiss to his parted lips as you remove your fingers from inside his ready hole.

“Get on top of me, baby,” you mutter as you pull away and Ten nods, disoriented and dazed.

You fall to his side on the bed, grabbing the strap on and putting it around you as you rub the lube, spreading it over the surface of the cock. The thought that Ten probably fucked himself on this after a night that was less that pleasurable and satisfactory with a girl who didn’t want to fuck him the way he wanted to enticed you immeasurably.

Ten’s hands are shaky as he throws his leg over your body lying back on his bed, knees pressed against your sides. Slowly, he lowers himself down on the length of the dildo, eyes closing and lips parting with a loud moan that he couldn’t suppress as he feels it fill him up.

He opens his eyes, gaze shifting to your face and you watch the surprise that falls across his delicate features as you cross your arms behind your head, not touching him.

Understanding that you wanted him to fuck himself on top of you, Ten leaned back and you felt his hands on your lower legs as he used it to support himself up while he starting moving up and down.

Arching his back, you watched the dancer’s slender and beautiful body manifest into the most breathtaking art that you’d ever seen, more beautiful than any marble sculpture as he bounced and fucked himself on you, mouth open as he sang the most sweet-sounding curses and mewls while his angry-red cock slapped against your stomach with every bounce, dripping pre-cum onto your skin.

You raised your hand to his face then, shoving two of your fingers into his parted lips and he immediately closed his lips around your digits, choking slightly. Your own eyes grew hazy with lust as Ten fucked himself faster, thoroughly wetting your fingers with his tongue as he moaned around them while moving faster.

His grunts grew louder and hoarser—you could tell he was close so you grabbed his hip with your free hand and raised your own hips, bucking up into him. Removing your fingers from his mouth, you lowered them dripping with his saliva to his chest and tweaked his nipples that you’d kisses sensitive earlier.

Ten’s body jerks and he groans loudly as his dick twitches, shooting spurts of thick heavy cum over the length of your torso. He keeps cumming continuously, covering your belly, the valley of your breasts and even shoots all the way to your hair with his sticky white fluids.

You drag your finger over your stomach, collecting the cum and stick your finger in your mouth, humming with pleasure at the taste of Ten’s slightly salty essence mixed with his saliva from when you’d been choking him earlier.

Ten collapses down onto your body heavily, unable to hold himself up anymore and you smile as you wrap an arm around his back.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” you start, unable to keep the smugness from your tone, “but did I just ruin sex with a girl for you?”

“Yes,” Ten replied, leaning up to kiss your lips and you smile in surprise at the sudden tenderness in the gesture.

He smiles tiredly, eyes still unfocused as he says, “Yes, you did.”

“We should change our concept, by the way,” you suggested. Ten blinks in confusion and you explain, “For the project. The way you looked on top of me with your back arched like that was pretty fucking divine.”

Ten let out a short laugh. “I don’t know, Y/N, a photograph of being pegged might raise some eyebrows since the concept for the project is Biblical.”

“I repeat: divine.”

[lavandermin]

little moon | dad!hoseok au

aka Hoseok fawning over his squishy little moon

+note: just something soft & lighthearted, subtle angst but mostly just dad hobi trying his best as a new papa

Every babble, every coo and audible smooch left an overwhelming sense of warmth in your chest. Giggles like honey that melted you, and Hoseok was putty in her tiny, chubby hands.

“She can mostly sit on her own now! Are you seeing this?” Hoseok beamed when he noticed you leaning against your bedroom’s door frame. He kissed her chubby cheek, nuzzling her neck the way he knew threw her in a fit of sweet giggles. “Haram, strong! Ah, you’re growing so fast, my little Haram.”

Her eyes were trained on his face, little hands squishing and playing with her father’s cheeks. And he let her explore as she pleased. Hoseok practically glowed with the love that swelled in his chest as he watched her intently. Maybe it was the ‘new mother’ hormones, but you couldn’t help the burn in your throat as you held back an onslaught of emotions every time you watched Hoseok hold Haram like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

“Y/n,” Hoseok called, his voice gentle like he would when he could sense your vulnerability. You crawled onto the bed and settled into his outstretched arm, Haram carefully nestled between both of you. “You’re my everything, I hope you know that.”

The smile he reminds you with is contagious. “I know,” you grin, and you meet halfway to press a kiss to his lips. “You’re the light of my life, you big softie.”

Gentle reminders. They left you both smiling fondly, chests warm and you wondered how the universe worked so generously in giving you Hoseok.

And since no attention was on her, Haram began to whine and nibble on her little hands. A tiny hunger fit that ended as soon as she latched onto your breast.

“And Haram is our little moon.”

“Our happy, sleepy little moon,” you agreed fondly, watching Haram quietly suckle on your teat.

She made quiet little noises every now and then; peculiar little sounds that you noticed Hoseok would do when he was happily eating. Little habits that filled all the little gaps in your heart and more.

You looked over at Hoseok, his eyes a mixture of adoration and cotton-soft love. “You’re so… wow,” he sighed. There were practically sparkles in his eyes.

“So... good at leaking everywhere?” you joked, reaching for a cotton pad from the nightstand behind you. With Haram fed and nodding off, Hoseok gently took her into his arms so you could finish cleaning up before you started leaking on your shirt. “Honestly, she’s just one baby so I don’t know why I’m making enough milk to feed a family of six.”

Hoseok could only laugh as he gently pat Haram’s back. “You’re a first-time mama, Y/n. Even I don’t know what to expect half the time. And maybe your body is compensating since Haram’s a growing little moon; her appetite’s probably doubled in size since she was born.”

“Yeah, well, so have my boobs. I can’t even wear my favorite lace bras anymore,” you pouted. Maybe it was more so that for a while you were only going to be able to wear the matching panties for some of your sets. “I just want to feel cute for you.”

Once Haram was burped and back in her nursery room crib fast asleep, Hoseok hopped back onto the bed. You could hear the faint muffled melody of Haram’s naptime music box from the room over. A gift from his sister.

“You’re always cute for me, babes. Here,” Hoseok pat his crossed legs and you let yourself indulge in his reassurance. “Mamas need hugs, too.”

“Yeah… mamas need hugs, too,” you echoed with a weak smile.

“Chest sensitive again?”

“No… Not sensitive, just...” You trailed off, more focused on the tiny circles his thumb rubbed on your arm. “I’m just really… happy? I’m exhausted, but I’m happy and I wanna cry.”

His laugh was sweet with amused confusion. “It’s okay to cry. I’m here. I’ve got you if you need to let stuff out.”

You nodded quietly, burying your face in his shoulder. Sometimes, the rare moments of being alone together was enough to recharge you both from sleepless days.

The fuzzy warmth you got when Hoseok held you close after a long day was always a comfort you looked forward to. Though you knew he was just as exhausted, he tried his best to make sure you knew it was a team effort. And you did the same on his down-days. If it meant you could hold him a little longer, take in the subtle scent of lavender soap and Haram’s baby smell, then you would endure anything.

Hoseok lifted the hair from your forehead, leaving a soft kiss behind. He kept his lips there and you relaxed in tune to his gentle breathing. “You’re amazing.”

“You’re amazing. Give yourself some credit where it’s due.”

“Haram was a team effort,” Hoseok laughed. You kissed the corner of his lips, resting your forehead on his.

There was a smile you couldn’t help. “I love you. So much. Thank you for being in my life.” Every statement you accentuated with kisses peppered all over his face. “Haram has the best dad. I really hope you know that.”

“I’ve heard Haram’s mom is pretty cool, too.”

“I’m sure she is, but her dad is really cute— secretly a sucker for slow dancing on the porch,” you teased.

He let out another hushed laugh; a breathy, boyish chuckle that suited his smiling eyes. “Sorry I can’t be him.”

“No,” you kissed his nose, “you’re better.”

Naps usually lasted an hour or two before she woke up. The baby monitor would go off with her whining when she did. For now, you appreciated the serene moments of cuddling with Hoseok on a welcoming bed. It was a comfortable silence in each other’s company— sweet, featherlight kisses peppered on sleepy faces. It was happiness.

“Whatcha thinking of?” Hoseok mumbled into your neck. His hand quietly found yours and interlocked, gentle squeeze a reassurance in letting you voice whatever was on your mind.

“Nostalgic. It’s been happening a lot this month,” you started. “Specifically the day I got the positive test result... keeps replaying in my head. How you cried over the phone at work and your coworker teased you for it.”

“Ah, that... Seokjin still teases me for it. I was so... overwhelmed— we had tried for months, maybe a year, but nothing,” Hoseok recalled. He ran his thumb over your knuckles; felt his glowing smile on your neck. “Do you think Haram should have someone to play with?”

“You try pushing one of those things out. Shit hurts.”

His laughter was sweet like honey, chest vibrating against your back with his delight. You squirm around in his loose hold to face him and place a kiss on his jawline.

“But—”

“But?” His face scrunched to avoid breaking into a smile. It wasn’t the easiest, but it made you giggle and that was enough for him.

“But… I think another little moon would be… really nice,” you finished timidly.

There’s an instant glow he takes on as he beams, burying his face in your neck. His arms squeeze you flush against him in a hug that makes you warm all over. It hits you both in another wave that you’re no longer the same shy couple you were in high school. Married and starting your own small, lively family— something you had both talked about when dreams were plenty.

“Yoongi and Taehyung said they would be more than happy to babysit if we ever wanted a date night,” Hoseok mentioned, eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

“Yoongi offering that is a surprise, but Taehyung— Taehyung would apply to be a certified family nanny if he could. He’ll spoil her rotten, I’ll tell you that now.”

The baby monitor on the nightstand goes off. Break over.

Hoseok is quick to get up, “I got it, don’t worry.” A sun eager to cradle his tiny, whiny moon in his arms again.

“Hobi,” you call softly. He lingers a little longer, and you shuffle to the edge of the bed to place a sweet kiss on his lips. The nickname still makes him weak in the knees, heart leaping. “Don’t— stress over it too much, okay? If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen again.”

There’s hopeful reassurance in your smile. A little patience was all you needed; Haram was proof of that. And if it could happen once, then surely with time you could try for another pregnancy.

“Yeah.” The smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He tries his best to put out any festering self-doubts like a cigarette under his heel.

Haram’s mindless babbling is all it takes to get Hoseok out of his cloudy mind for a while. Her small, chubby hand can barely grasp his index finger and it brings him endearment like no other. But his shoulders are still a little stiff, sort of slumped… he supposes it’s one of his down-days.

Arms come around to circle his waist, cheek pressed against his back. “Papas need hugs, too. I’m here if you need to let stuff out, okay, Hobi?”

The words are familiar and he feels pent up emotions welling up— in his chest, burning his throat, stinging his eyes. A mixture of everything he’s sure you feel, too. But he smiles like he means it, because he truly does.

Haram is his little moon, but if he had to be cheesy about it he’d say you were all the stars that make up his universe.

[mymelodyheart]

Highland Destiny Chapter 14 ~Unscripted Love~

"Wot?" Claire gasped as she stared at Jaime, wide eyes and unblinking. Her mind was racing, flitting from past recent events to an unknown possible future and then back. So many things have transpired in the last five weeks, that she hadn't really had time to catch her breath, let alone wrap her head around the unexpected news of her pregnancy.  

And now this? If I keep this up, I'll have 10 kids before I'm 40! Jesus H.Roosevelt Christ!

"Sassenach, I asked...if ye will be my wife?" Jamie whispered softly, his forehead furrowed in anticipation, as he waited on tenterhooks for an answer.

Avoiding his eyes, Claire bolted right up, pushed the bed covers aside and got out of bed. "I need to go to the loo," she muttered, hurrying before Jamie could say another word. Inhaling deeply, she closed the door and leaned against it.  

One little two little three little Indians, four little five little six little Indians...,  Claire sang in her head to calm her nerves. It was something she did since she was a child whenever she was anxious or nervous. 

When she could finally move, she turned on the tap and lathered heaps of soap on her hands, trying to remove Jamie's ring.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Sassenach? Ye alright?" Before she could answer, Jamie came in. "Ye shouldn't be running like that...ye need to slow down now that ye're pregnant," looking her over with concerned eyes.

"I'm a few weeks pregnant for crying out loud, not nine months. So stop treating me like I'm incapacitated!" Claire snapped without looking at him, focused on removing the jewellery.

Jamie frowned as he realised what she was trying to do. "Maybe yer fingers are swollen...I read last night that pregnancy causes that. Perhaps that's why ye can't remove the ring."

She turned to face him, golden eyes blazing and face beet red. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm fat, James Fraser?"

"No, that's not what I was saying," he said calmly, leaning on the doorframe, arms across his chest, his hair tousled from sleep or lack of. "Sassenach, are ye grumpy at me?" he asked gently, trying to suppress his amusement.

"No! I'm not grumpy at all!" Claire huffed in annoyance, as she gave up removing the ring, turning her back to him to wipe her hands on the towel.

Sighing deeply, Jaime uncrossed his arms and walked over to her. Slowly turning her around, he tilted her head back with one hand and asked, "Do ye not want to marry me, Sassenach?"

"I never said that!" she retorted, trying to avert her eyes from his intense scrutiny. After a few moments of silence, she softened, releasing a long pent up breath, "Jamie, I'm so sorry. It's just that...I can hardly keep up with all the things going on. These last five weeks ...I was nearly burned alive...I've been assaulted by your uncle...I've been drugged...I was almost raped...then I find out I'm pregnant and you dropped the bomb and asked me to marry you...It's all too much, and I'm still ..."

"Ssshh...I'm so sorry too," hushing her gently as he took her into his arms, tenderly stroking her hair and back. "If we could start all over again, I ken there are things I would like to change. I wish I could have been more forthright with ye from the beginning. Then perhaps some of the things that happened wouldn't have happened. But I can't change the past, Sassenach, but I would verra much like to make it up to ye, if ye would allow me to. That is why I thought Skye would be a great idea...there will be just us. No work, no distractions, no places to go to...just us. There, we can start all over. I'm so sorry for putting the ring in yer finger...I wasn't planning on asking ye today...I only wanted to see if it fitted ye. I feel so foolish now."

"You didn't intend to ask me?" Claire asked, puckering her eyebrows.

"Och, I do want to marry ye Sassenach." He leaned down to briefly kiss her on the lips. "That's if ye'll have me. I know now asking ye today was lousy timing. We can marry anytime ye want...tomorrow, in ten years, whenever...I can wait. I thought maybe ye didna wish to marry me because ye were married before...to Frank. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind as long as I'm with ye." He paused, swallowing audibly, trying to find the right words. "The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew I wanted ye...more than anything I have ever wanted in my life. And when ye walked in at the Station, the day of the general meeting, I've loved ye ever since." He moved closer, his breath warm on her face. "I love ye with all my heart Claire, and I tell ye the truth when I say, I have never said those words to any woman before." He paused. "Weel...except to my ma and my sister...and now I'm saying it to ye." He smiled broadly, placing both her hands on his chest.

"Jaime..." she was unsure what to say, trying to find reason and logic to grasp onto.

Taking her right hand, he looked at the ring on Claire's finger, before bringing it to his lips to kiss it. "Do ye really mind wearing it, Sassenach? It looks so pretty on ye...it matches yer eyes."

Gazing at her hand, she had to agree it did look quite fetching. "It is beautiful, Jaime...I love it. But our friends are bound to ask questions when they see this on my finger...not that I mind wearing it." She frowned slightly, pursing her lips.

"Weel, ye dinna exactly say no when I asked ye to marry me...do ye think ye can picture us married in the future? Besides..." Both Jaime's hands reached out to her stomach, "...we have the wee bairn to think about as well."

"I suppose so..." she replied, biting her lip. After a short contemplation, she gazed directly into Jamie's eyes, and what she saw was the baring of his soul and the promise of an unflagging love. Her heart soared, astounded that this beautiful specimen of a man, can open his heart in all its rawness, exposed and unafraid. It was there for the taking, waiting for her to claim it. Whatever control and self-preservation she had left, it was rapidly slipping away, and it was no longer a matter of choice. "Yes, Jaime...I can see us together," she admitted.

"Weel, if ye can do that, see yersel' married to me, and ye not minding wearing my ring, is it so difficult to say yes to my marriage proposal?" he asked. It was a question that was undemanding of nature, nor was it an attempt to challenge her reservations. Not waiting for her to reply, he gathered her into his arms for a long tender kiss...a kiss that spoke from the heart.

Claire, feeling intoxicated by the feel of his hard body against her, yielded, surrendering to her own feelings and urges, releasing whatever doubts and fear she had. Slowly she responded fervently to Jamie with all her being, twining her arms around his neck, pulling him closer until they moulded together as one, fitting perfectly and in harmony. She realised then and there, that she couldn't imagine life without him as the stirring in her belly renewed, an acknowledgement to their love waiting to be born. In her heart of hearts, Claire found their moment in forever, like this was how they should have always been. Without any more further thoughts, she conceded. "Yes, Jamie, I want to marry you." The moment Claire uttered those words, a sense of deliverance took over her, just like the feeling after a confessional rite when a priest absolves past sins.

Jamie raised his head to gaze into her eyes, his face a picture of bliss and ecstasy, making her heart skip a beat. "And I, you Sassenach. And I can't wait to have ye to myself once we're in Skye."

Claire raised an eyebrow, nuzzling her face at the base of his throat. "Really? And what are your plans?"

Sliding down his hands to fondle her arse, he whispered into her ears, "I plan to have ye naked with yer hair all wild and loose...and I will make verra slow love to ye, kissing every inch of yer body until ye forget yer name."

"Is that so?"

"Aye, that is so." And then he kissed her some more, to give her a taste of his promise that is to come. 

..........

It was difficult to leave the hospital immediately. There were papers to be signed for Claire's release, police statement to be made, and to delay things further, she had a few belated visits from Geillis, Joe and her colleagues at work, much to Jaime's growing impatience. Although overwhelmed with the attention, she found it very amusing to see strapping and burley firemen bearing gifts in the form of pink stuffed toys, balloons and flowers. Even the dour-looking Murtagh didn't disappoint.

"Here," said Murtagh gruffly, handing her a giant box of chocolate truffles before leaning forward for a quick awkward hug. "See ye in two weeks, bright and early."

Before she could say thank you, Geillis let out a high-pitch screech making everyone in the room jump. "Oh my God, oh my God! Claire! Let me see that!" She grabbed Claire's right hand, raising it for everyone to see the engagement ring.

Flabbergasted, everyone stared open-mouthed at Jamie, eagerly awaiting for him to say something.

Red-faced, Jamie shrugged, giving Claire an apprehensive look and a weak smile, and before he could think, he blurted out, "We're having a baby!"

"What?" Everyone exclaimed simultaneously in astonishment, except Joe who knew already and was shaking his head in amusement.

This time everyone's eyes were on Claire. "Oh, Jamie!" she groaned, slightly annoyed that he announced her pending pregnancy. She didn't want anyone knowing until they were very sure the baby was safe from the effects of the drugs she ingested.

Unaffected with everyone's reaction and silence, Geillis was shrieking in delight, jumping up and down, clapping her hands before hugging Claire, Jamie, and then Claire again, both of them collapsing on the bed. "Och, Claire, I'm so happy for ye... cannae believe our wee fox cub is off the market... and ye, my pet, I cannae wait to spoil yer wee red-headed curly top bairn," she squealed ecstatically.

Tension and surprise soon were replaced by hearty congratulations, back-slapping and bear hugs, and Claire and Jamie began to relax and revel in sharing their happiness.

"Aah, a right Fraser ye are, my lad," one of the men shouted, "Ye dinna waste time do ye, getting one of our best worker up the duff." The statement was followed by roaring laughter, making Claire blush profusely.

"Weel, I cannae help it...she pursued me day and night, ye ken, and I cannae deny a beautiful lass," Jamie replied jokingly, before giving Claire a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Is that right, Fraser? Ever since Beauchamp arrived, ye were never away from the station. Ye didna give the rest of the lads a chance," Hugh teased, giving his friend a nudge on his arms.

"Och, it's the Fraser charm, lads," Geillis said, joining in with the banter before turning to Claire and Jamie. "So do we have a wedding date yet?"

Claire smiled shyly looking at Jamie, "No, we haven't talked about any dates yet..."

"I'm hoping verra soon, before the bairn is born," Jamie interrupted, overlooking the delicate matter of the fetus' precarious state.

Before more questions could be asked, Joe decided to intervene, after noticing Claire's slight discomfort. "Right lads, let's leave the lovebirds for now. They have a holiday to go to, and you'll see them back soon enough."

Collectively nodding in agreement, everyone said their good-byes, congratulations and good luck before they left one by one leaving Jamie and Claire once more on their own. It took almost twenty minutes for everyone to disperse, and both were relieved once everyone was gone.

"How are ye Sassenach? It wasna so bad, was it?" He asked, taking her hand in his.

"No, not at all," she replied, facing him and putting her arms around his waist, before laying her head on his chest. "I'm happy."

"That's good...I want ye to be happy," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. 

.........

At the cottage, Jamie took the brown envelope Claire had given him a few days ago from the coffee table and headed for the bedroom where she was busy packing for their leave. He stood there watching her for a moment, as she went through the wardrobe and drawers picking out clothes and throwing them onto the bed. He loved watching her, especially when she was unaware or distracted.

He cleared his throat to get her attention. "Sassenach, do ye have a moment?" When she turned around to face him, he raised the envelope with his hand. "I want to talk about this."

"Oh, Jamie...do we have to? Can't it wait until we come back," she asked half-heartedly.

He sighed. "Claire, I don't want to go into details about it. All I want to know is why?"

Giving in, she walked over to him and took the envelope from his hand and placed it on the nearby chair. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she replied, "Because I wanted to, and it was the right thing."

Unconvinced, he shook his head. "That's no' a reason, Sassenach."

Claire released him and went back to folding clothes. "Well, if you must know, Château Cheval Blanc was never mine to have in the first place as well as the many stocks, bonds and shares Frank left behind. When my father-in-law made his will, I was never in his mind. It was all meant to be for Frank and future children we would have. Nobody could have predicted Frank would die so young and having no other family to pass on Frank's inheritance, I inherited my father-in-law's wealth...I guess by default. De Marillac's shares were Frank's father's shares, and I inherited it by some loophole in the legalities of the will. When I accidentally found out you were Jared Fraser's nephew and that you were trying to buy-out the other shareholders, it was a no-brainer decision to sign them over to you. It belongs to your family Jamie, and I have no right to it."

Jamie's face was expressionless as he strode towards her. Taking the garment she was folding off her hand, he turned her around to face him. "Sassenach, ye still haven't answered my question," he said in a warning tone. "I already know all that. What I want to know is why."

She fidgeted on her feet and lowered her head, refusing to look at him. "Well, after the incident at the charity ball, I didn't know how you felt about me. Thinking that you would have moved out from here after the stunt Annalise pulled, I didn't want to have anything that belonged to you or anything that would remind me of you."

"Ye could have used the money..."

"Jamie, I am financially stable, and I've always led a simple life, a legacy from growing up with my Uncle Lamb. I do not need much, and I'm quite comfortable...really."

"Sassenach, but why?" His hands were tight on her shoulders as if by gripping any harder, he could force the real truth out.

"Jamie, I already told you why, for fuck sake!" she glared at him, gritting her teeth in exasperation.

"No, ye haven't," he replied stubbornly, standing his ground.

Claire suddenly panicked. She knew there was no way out, and the last vestiges of the secret she held close to her heart were about to be exposed, leaving her naked and vulnerable, and Jamie was not about to give up. She wanted to resist, but inside she was crumbling and disintegrating fast, like the stone quarries of Egypt when the dynamite was detonated, leaving fragments of stones scattered to the ground.

Suddenly, she fell on her knees, hands on her face, and her shoulder slumped. Whatever fortification she had built, it was all gone. "The reason why I did what I did is that because I love you, damn it!" she sobbed, her voice cracking. " I love you James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser or whoever you are."

Jamie quickly got down on his knees and took her into his arms, his heart pounding and rejoicing in a chorus. It was what he had wanted to hear and not the drug talking.

"Sssh Sassenach, I love ye too,  mo chridhe.  There's the two of us now...ye're no longer alone. Hush now, everything will be alright." He cradled her tight against him, wiping her tears away until there were no more tears to be shed.

For the longest time, they both clung onto one another, not saying a word, two souls stirring in a most subtle way as the story between them finally began to write itself.

[creampuffqueen]

Worlds of Fire and Darkness | Chapter Fourteen (Lyria, Rygan, Sam)

Read this on Ao3! (Here) Likes, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated! Things get slightly nsfw in the first part, so be prepared for that. Also, Lyria and Folas’s song is Into You by Ariana Grande, Sam and Rygan’s song is Lucky by Jason Mraz. The lyrics for the Ballad of Terrasen are from the song by Inquillery on youtube! It’s so amazing, I definitely recommend listening to it while reading Rygan’s POV!

The long awaited Peace Ball is held, but things don’t go exactly as planned.

Lyria POV

“Folas, I need to get up.” Even annoyed, I couldn’t keep the stupid dopey smile off my face. The curtains were drawn, but the late afternoon sun still peeked through, pulling me from my sleep. 

The male in question rolled away from me, groaning his complaints. I was hit with a sudden rush of cold without his warmth, and I sat up, smiling at the goosebumps on my arms. 

“Do you really have to?” He asked, sighing below me. “Can’t you just stay here?”

“No, because the ball starts in a few hours. You don’t want to miss that, do you?” I grinned at him, bending down to kiss him swiftly. 

“I’ll miss it if it means I get to spend the night with you.” His purr was devious, and I rolled my eyes.

“You stayed here last night.”

“And I’ll do it again.” I snorted at that, but couldn’t resist another kiss. This one lingered, soft and sweet. 

When I pulled away, I waited for a moment, just watching him. Folas’s dark hair was mussed, and his tanned chest was above the blankets just enough for me to admire. 

It had been three days since our first kiss, and a whirlwind three days at that. After our fight that first night, I’d spent nearly the whole next day apologizing, even after Folas had assured me it was fine. I didn’t know what had gotten into me, and I’d lashed out at him unreasonably.

And that next night… I’d made it up to him, properly. He hadn’t made it back to his own room afterwards. Whether he even tried to was questionable, but I wasn’t complaining. 

I finally managed to pull myself away and get off the bed, and grabbed a dressing gown from the chair at my vanity. I pulled it on, relishing its cozy warmth.

“I need a bath, Folas. And you probably do, too.” While we had just woken up from a nap, we’d spent the hours before it rolling in each other’s scents, and the room was pungent with the smell of us.

“Besides,” I continued, “My friends are all coming here to get ready together. If you stay, you’ll have to listen to Asceline making fun of you the whole time.”

At that, Folas groaned loudly and rolled out of bed. I didn’t bother to hide my gaze traveling along his body, and he just smirked at me.

“Like what you see, princess?” He purred.

“Oh, you know I do. But alas, we don’t have time.” I still walked towards him, though, drawn to him by some magnetic force. 

Folas pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. He leaned in and gave me another kiss on the lips, but I pushed him gently away before he could take it further.

“C’mon, let’s hurry up.” I urged. “The other females will be here soon, and I want to be cleaned up by then.”

Folas gathered his clothes and pulled them on, giving me one last kiss before he left. I resisted the urge to lean into him, to tangle my fingers in his hair and drag him back to bed. We’d already spent far too much time alone as it was, and I was sure my parents and family were onto us. 

After he was gone, I drew a cold bath, using the frigid water to wake myself up properly. I didn’t even bother using my usual soaps and bath oils, instead just taking a few minutes to scrub my body and hair until they gleamed.

I toweled off, though I used my powers to dry my hair and curl it. I had just pulled on a petticoat and a robe when a loud knock sounded on my suite door.

“Come in!” I called, opening up my wardrobe to find the dress I wanted to wear. 

It was Asceline at the door, as expected, and my cousin breezed inside, her dress in a bag that she threw onto my bed.

“Really, Lyria,” She sighed, “You can’t bother to clean up this room even a little? So we don’t all have to smell what’s been going on in here? Aren’t your little sisters coming in here, too?”

“Calm down, Ash.” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’s not that bad.”

“It’s very bad. This entire room smells like sex.” She grabbed a bottle of my perfume off my vanity and sprayed it at me, grinning when I coughed.

“While I’m glad that you and loverboy have finally stopped being dumb about your feelings for each other, you don’t have to shove it in all of our faces.” Asceline spritzed some of my perfume on herself.

“Oh, shut up, you don’t get to say anything.” I laughed, taking the bottle from her and applying it to my neck and wrists. “You are totally acting stupid around Leo and won’t admit your feelings to him.”

My cousin smacked me lightly in the side, though she couldn’t hold a glare. “This is not about me and Leo.”

“What’s not about you and Leo?” I nearly jumped out of my skin as I saw Rose appear in the doorway. Despite the fact she was as human as could be, she’d perfected the Fae art of being completely silent.

“Nothing.” Asceline said defensively. She turned back to the bed, crinkling her nose as she took in the rumpled sheets.

“Look at my dress!” Rose giggled, ignoring Asceline. She held it up so we could all see, and my breath was nearly taken away by the beauty of it. 

It was floor-length, like most of our dresses, and made of flowing white tulle. However, the bodice was a deep purple, and the color lightened to a pale lavender as it traveled down the dress in an ombre pattern. The sleeves were off the shoulder, made of creamy white silk.

“You’re going to look stunning in that.” I grinned. Rose beamed, and set the dress down on the bed next to Asceline’s. 

The witches arrived next, Aris and Nysa squabbling as usual. 

“Nysa, you can’t wear that.” Aris snapped to her sister. “You’re barely sixteen-”

“Yes, and at least I’ve got a boyfriend to admire me in it.” Nysa growled. “If I want to show off, that’s my business.”

“Both of you shut up.” Kerrigan said, rolling her eyes. “Nysa doesn’t have another dress to wear, anyway.”

“Stay out of this.” Aris and Nysa snapped in unison, then turned their glares back to each other as the fighting continued.

“All of you hush!” I interjected, pushing between the sisters. “Nysa, show me your dress. I’m sure it’s beautiful.”

“It’s beautiful, but far too revealing.” Aris protested. “I don’t want my little sister walking around in that.”

Nysa snarled at Aris, then pulled her dress out of its bag to show me. It was bright red and made of silk, with thin straps that held it up- and a large slit that would obviously go from ankle to thigh when she wore it. 

“She’s fine.” I decided. “And like Kerrigan said, there’s not another dress here for her anyway.”

“See!” Kerrigan shouted, glaring at her older sisters. “I do know things, you know.”

Both of them rolled their eyes and continued to ignore their little sister. Aris showed us her dress, a pale blue thing that sparkled in the light. We oohed and ahhed over it, then were distracted when more people showed up.

Soon enough, my room was full of people. The girls from Anielle, from the Southern Continent, from Briarcliff. Even my own little sisters arrived, forgoing getting their hair done by our mother to spend time with all the older females. 

Besides, our mother would be getting ready herself. Or taking care of Fleetfoot.

For the past three days the dog had been living the high life. Hand-cooked meals three times a day, brought to her on a silver platter, a plush bed near the fire, walks through the flower garden every time she needed to go outside- the dog was spoiled to the heavens.

“Lyria, can you do my hair, please?” Evalin chirped. “I want it in a bun, just like Asceline has.”

My cousin was finishing with her braided bun, tongue stuck out as she focused. She’d managed to rope Giselle into holding all of her supplies, and the girl looked absolutely miserable.

“Come here.” Evalin sat on my lap on the bed as I brushed out her long, silvery hair, while Aerith tugged on Amelie’s dress until she turned around to see her.

“Can you please help me do my hair?” Aerith begged, making sure to speak slowly and clearly, so Amelie could read her lips. The older girl nodded, taking my littlest sister over to my vanity.

All around, the room was bustling with activity as people got ready for the ball. Words flew past, snagging me into different conversations as I fixed Evalin’s hair.

“Aris, can you zip up my dress?”

“Gods, I’m so bad at braiding- Asceline, can you help me fix this?”

“Teagan, will you pass me that khol when you’re done?”

I tied Evalin’s bun and fluffed it with the comb, sending my little sister off to get her dress. Seeing nobody else needed my help, I finally got up to get my own dress. 

I had hung it on my bathroom door earlier and now the sewn-on sequins were sparkling in the candlelight as the sun slowly dipped towards the horizon. It was Terrasen green, like most of my dresses, smooth and silky fabric that felt wonderful beneath my fingers. 

“Lyria, your dress is so pretty.” Asceline purred, prancing up beside me to rest her head on my shoulder. My cousin’s golden hair was the same shade as my own, one of the only physical traits we shared. 

While Asceline was a shifter and could therefore make herself look however she pleased, she usually didn’t. Sometimes she changed the color of her hair or eyes, or gave herself Fae ears to hear better, but that was the extent of changing her human form. My cousin loved herself, curves and and weird birthmarks and all. 

I smiled at Asceline and pulled the dress down from the door, unzipping the back so I could slip inside. 

Shucking off the robe, since I had my petticoat on beneath, I let my younger cousin hold me steady so I could step inside the deep green dress. 

I had one foot in when Asceline suddenly took her hands off me and put them on my shoulders, surprise written all over her face. Without her keeping me upright, I toppled over so fast I almost didn’t hear her shout.

“Why do you have bite marks on you?!” she shrieked, as I lay on the floor with my feet tangled in my dress. I could feel the stares of all the other girls turning toward me.

“Okay, you don’t have to yell about it-” I snarled, trying to slip out of the green fabric to put my dress on properly. Asceline made no move to help me up, and instead I hauled myself up using one of the posts on my bed.

I could see my cousin putting two and two together- the mussed bedsheets, the scent, the marks. When her Ashryver eyes returned to me, they were unreadable.

“Lyria, did you let Folas do that?” She asked softly. I bared my teeth in a snarl as I pulled my dress off the floor. 

“What does it matter to you? It’s my body.” I hissed. The room was very quiet as my cousin and I stared each other down. I prayed that somebody had gotten my little sisters away so they didn’t have to witness the arguement I knew was coming. 

“Lyr, I know, it’s just-” I cut Asceline off with a growl.

“You don’t get to decide what I do with my own body.” I stepped inside my dress and pulled it up, managing to stay upright by some miracle or another. Asceline moved forward, as if to help me zip up the back, but I pulled away with a glare.

“Lyria.” My cousin begged. “I just don’t want to see you getting hurt. You’re rushing into all of this too fast.”

“Like you would know.” I snapped. I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth, watching as Asceline’s face fell and silver began to line her eyes. 

“Asceline-”

“Save it.” My cousin whimpered. “You’re right, anyway.” She wiped furiously at her eyes, turning away from me. 

I pulled the sleeves of my dress up and over my shoulders, keeping the bodice up and not sagging until I could get it zipped. When I looked up, only seconds later, Asceline had disappeared. 

Leaving a glaring Evalin in her wake. 

My little sister met my gaze with the heat of a thousand fires, her Ashryver eyes, so much like Asceline’s, furious.

“Lyria, you can be a real bitch sometimes.” Before I could scold her for swearing, Evalin had transformed in a flash of light, her peregrine falcon form flying for the window that someone had left open. 

I cursed my stupid big mouth as I stomped towards my vanity, grabbing the small jar of foundation and slathering it liberally on my neck, too furious at myself and my family members to care it was getting dangerously close to my neckline. 

It was only when a pair of soft, delicate hands wrapped around my wrists that I finally glanced up. Amelie.

She didn’t sign to me, or try to make any kind of communication. Instead, she gently pulled my hands away from my body, took a cloth towel from my vanity, and gently dabbed away the foundation to make it look natural again.  

When I turned back to the others, my composure slightly regained, I found almost all eyes on me.

“What are you looking at?” I snapped, before letting out a loud sigh. My temper was getting the best of me, and I was being unfair. This wasn’t their fault, it was mine.

“Hey, it’s gonna be fine.” Aris assured me. “You two are family, you can’t be upset with each other forever.”

However, with the way Nysa was glaring at her sister, I wasn’t so sure. 

“Lyria, I got your shoes.” I peered down at Aerith, holding up a pair of silvery flats for me. I squatted down to her level, taking the shoes and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you.” I breathed. I stood up and slipped them on, managing to keep my balance long enough to fasten the buckles at the ankle. I was sure that by the end of the night I would be barefoot, but for now, before everyone was drunk, I would appear as the prim and proper princess. 

My little sister held out her arm, and we linked elbows. Her silver hair was in a half-up style, using the short hair she had. Aerith and Thallan had always cut their hair at their shoulders, meaning it was almost impossible to tell them apart by just a glance. 

“Asceline will be back.” Aerith assured me. “She won’t want to miss the ball.”

“I know she’ll come back.” I said softly. “I’m just worried she won’t let me talk to her and apologize.”

“Stop worrying.” Aerith insisted, sounding so much like our mother it took my breath away. “Let’s go and have fun, Lyria.”

The other girls were whispering behind me. I didn’t know what they were saying, if it was good or bad. But I found myself not caring. 

“You have to teach me the dance steps, okay?” My little sister said. “Because Thallan won’t learn them with me.”

“I will.” I promised. 

Aerith held out her pinky to me. So I reached over and linked my own. A pinky promise, the unbreakable sibling promise.

With that, my little sister grinned merrily and hauled me out of the room, the rest of the girls soon following as we made our way to the Great Hall.

Ready for the 20th Annual Peace Ball. 

~~~~

The Great Hall normally felt large, but tonight it felt even bigger than usual. The chandeliers were all lit, the decorations were set up, and tables and tables of food were laid out right before us. All set before the wooden thrones on the raised dias. 

My parents were the only ones inside the hall, slow dancing to music only they could hear. The musicians had yet to set up, and the only other living soul in the room was Fleetfoot, napping in my mother’s throne atop a plush blanket.

I almost felt bad about going inside, as if I was ruining their moment. But Aerith tugged me forward, then raced over to our parents and practically threw herself at our father’s arms.

“Aerith!” Rowan boomed, catching my sister effortlessly. He held her on his hip, like when she was a toddler, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Hello, Mama.” I smiled, greeting my mother with a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, Papa.”

“Hello to you, too, my beautiful girls.” Mother laughed. “Are you ready for the ball?”

“I’m ready for dinner!” Aerith giggled. Rowan smiled at that, giving her another kiss on her head. 

Slowly, guests started to trickle in; the early arrivers. Most of the girls who had been in my room to get ready were there.

Though I noticed that Evalin and Asceline were still missing. Neither of my parents noticed, as all of my brothers were still absent. Why, I would never know. They hardly had anything to do to get ready!

I watched the musicians take their place and start setting up their instruments, while last-minute trays of food were brought up from the bustling kitchen. 

When we were little, our punishments for acting up always consisted of helping out in the kitchen. Usually washing dishes. I always hated it down there, with the hustle and bustle and chaoticness. But Sam, always my opposite, would go downstairs to help on his own.

And as if my thoughts had summoned him, Sam appeared at the entrance of the Great Hall just as the music started. Aspen and Thallan were with them, meaning that only Evalin was missing now.

Glancing around nervously, I subconsciously began to chew on my manicured fingernails, only stopping when Aerith tugged on my dress. 

And then, my mother spoke the words I’d been dreading.

“Lyria, Aerith, where’s Evalin? Wasn’t she with you?”

Aerith glanced up at me, a silent question of whether she should answer or not. Looking between my mother and my baby sister, I slightly shook my head no.

“She’s in the bathing room still, Mama.” I let out a sigh of relief and turned away, scanning the Great Hall for a flash of my sister’s silvery hair. 

I spotted Nysa and Kerrigan easily, the two of them leaning casually against a wall and talking. Nysa’s red dress was tight around her abdomen, while one of her pale legs was on full display right up to her thigh.

More guests arrived, and I heard my mother snap her fingers to start dimming the lights. A few of the haughty old lords passed the Fae and witch arrivals with dirty looks, though they were largely ignored, as usual. 

Aedion and Lysandra arrived, Evangeline hot on their heels, hand in hand with Hazel Ironwood, Lord Ironwood’s eldest daughter. Three Ashryvers accounted for, one still missing. 

“Hey, you.” I flinched, whipping around, only to see Folas standing before me, grinning. I hadn’t even heard him approaching.

“Oh. It’s you.”

“Don’t sound so excited to see me.” He chuckled. I rolled my eyes and punched him lightly in the arm.

But Folas grabbed my hand and twirled me away, and I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up from my throat. When I regained my balance, he was there, kissing the back of my hand and looking at me in a way that made my face heat.

“Folas! Stop making out with my sister with your eyes!” Aspen shouted, pushing himself in between us. 

“Aspen!” I scolded. “Don’t be rude.”

My younger brother just stuck his tongue out at me.

“Very mature.” Folas commented, grinning in a way so I could see his pointed canines. My hand subconsciously went to the base of my neck, where the foundation covered the bite marks by those same teeth.

“Stop being gross, you two.” Now Sam was beside me as well, with a devious smirk that didn’t sit properly on his gentle features.

I pushed my way out of my crowd of siblings and onto the floor just as the music began to play. Folas trailed after me, his hand finding mine easily. 

It felt strange, to know that months ago, I’d lain awake with Asceline into the small hours of the night, just talking about Folas. And now, here he was, holding my hand, his marking on my body and mine on his. 

But- Asceline.

I cursed myself, over and over again, even as I kept a smile plastered on my features, for how stupid I’d been. My cousin was just looking out for me, and I’d pushed her away. Just like I had done to Folas days ago. 

“What’s wrong?” And there was Folas, more attuned to my emotions that I probably was. I shoved down the feeling of brushing him off, of claiming everything was fine when it most definitely wasn’t.

“Asceline and I got into a fight earlier.” I admitted. “And I said some nasty things, and she left. Evalin went after her, and neither of them are back yet.”

Folas’s dark eyes slide from my face to over my shoulder, his grin not fading in the slightest. I considered smacking him for not paying attention, but after a moment of consideration I turned around to see what had him so enraptured.

And a moment later I was so glad I did.

Because Asceline had returned, Evalin holding her hand. 

My cousin’s eyes were red and puffy, and her once perfect hair was coming undone slightly. But I didn’t think about any of that as I turned around and crushed her in a hug, tears welling up in my own eyes. 

“I’m so sorry!” I whimpered, pulling her to me as if I could somehow fuse her with myself. Asceline pulled away slightly, though still let me cling to her as she spoke. 

“No, Lyria, I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have started anything with you. I was just worried for you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She turned a glare on Folas. “I swear on all the gods, Lochan, if you hurt her I will flay you alive and feed you to my dogs.”

Folas gave her a dramatic shudder in answer. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Satisfied, I let my cousin free from my death grip so she could smooth her dress and fix her hair. Evalin had wandered off, and I spotted her over with my mother, getting food. 

“We’re all good.” Asceline finished. “You two go dance, okay? I’ll see you later.” She walked away, soon falling in with her family. I watched from afar as Evangeline and Hazel wrapped her in a hug, likely cooing over her dress.

Folas’s thumb caressed the back of my hand, prompting me to look back at him.

“What?”

“You heard what Ashy said. Let’s go dance.”

“It’s tradition for the King and Queen to do the first dance during balls.” I told him. Nobody was dancing yet, all waiting for when my parents would emerge. Though my mother always told everyone not to wait, the people always did, anyway.

“Well, you’re their future queen, so it can’t be that much different, can it?” Folas joked. He tugged my hand, like a petulant child dragging their parent over to a sweet shop. Even so, I found myself unable to resist his smile. 

So I let him drag me onto the dance floor, grinning wildly as he twirled me around and around and around. 

Laughter bubbled up from my throat, my heart beating rapidly as Folas led me through a dance, his own smile matching my own.

I let my power flow through me, sparks and embers floating around us, a crown of flames flickering over my own head. 

The music continued, and more and more gazes turned towards us, watching as the Crown Princess of Terrasen opened up the Peace Ball for the first time, the future Lord of Perranth serving as my partner. I could feel their stares on us, but looking at the embers reflecting in Folas’s dark eyes, I suddenly found I didn’t care.

The song faded into nothing, and Folas finished strong, dipping me so suddenly sparks erupted around us. His lips met mine in a brief kiss that left my lips tingling, before twirling me away one last time, throwing his hands in the air.

I took half a second to catch my breath, before I raised my hand and linked it with his. 

“Welcome to the Peace Ball!” I said to the crowd, letting my bits of summoned fire dissipate into smoke. All around us, it was silent, for just a moment.

Then the clapping started. 

From Asceline, grinning madly at the front of the crowd. Evangeline and Hazel following, my aunt Lysandra and uncle Aedion only a split second behind. And then the rest of the room erupted into cheering, people smiling ear to ear, clapping so hard the sound filled the room.

And from her dias, standing next to her throne and petting Fleetfoot, my mother cheered, letting out a raucous whistle into the crowd that had me beaming. 

The music started up again, a loud peppy song, and I watched as couples entered the dance floor, laughing and smiling the whole time. I stole a glance up at Folas, and found him grinning as well.

“C’mon, let’s dance!” He grabbed my waist and I squealed, letting him spin me through the now thick crowd of dancers until I was dizzy. 

This new song was light, happy, and I clicked my heels on the golden floor with relish, my laughter uncontainable. Folas would pull me toward him, kiss me quick, before letting me go to dance away from him, a trail of embers following my every move. 

It was exhilarating, the kind of high I wished I could have all the time, a sense of euphoria stronger than any drug in the world, I was sure. 

And my feeling of it was only heightened when Folas dragged me away from the dancers and into an offshooting hallway, large hands roaming my body over my thick dress.

“You’re perfect, Lyria. Perfect.” He mumbled against my skin, lips pressed feverishly against my throat, tracing closer and closer to where I was sure he knew his claiming marks lay, covered by the heavy makeup.

“I know.” I purred back, content to languish in his kisses until he tired of them, which, seeing the way he nuzzled the crook of my neck, wasn’t likely to be anytime soon.

Folas hummed softly, moving his hands from my back to lower down, pulling me closer against him as he pressed us both against the wall. The moon was out now, and most of the candles in the hallway extinguished to make the Great Hall seem brighter. We were alone.

But as the thought crossed my mind, my ears pricked, the sounds of the Ball and all of its attendees suddenly roaring loud. Alone, yes, but hidden? Definitely not.

Folas’s hands found the zipper on the back of my dress just as he pressed another kiss to my throat, and it took every possible bit of willpower in me to not just let him go, risk it all, if he promised not to stop what he was doing.

“Let’s go to the gardens.” I managed to get out, not able to resist threading my fingers through his dark locks.

“Mhm.” Folas nipped softly at my chin, and I had to bite my lip to stifle that soft groan that threatened to spill out.

“I’m serious.” I repeated. “The gardens will have hardly any guards right now. Someone’s bound to come down this hall at some point.”

“Yeah, and I bet I could get you to come at least once before that happens.”

“Someone’s confident in themselves.” I retorted. “I thought I was your first time, two days ago.”

“I had a learning curve two days ago.” Folas grinned. “And is that I bet I’m hearing, Lyr?”

“No, it’s not.”

Folas ignored me, sweeping me up into his arms and kissing me hard. “Maybe we can see how many times I can make you come before the guards find us.”

“In your dreams.” I snorted, though my I felt my toes curling in my shoes at the thought. 

“Oh, I’ll make it feel like a dream, all right. Just you wait, princess. I’m going to take you into the gardens and ravish you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him to me for a kiss. 

“Better get on it, then. Sounds like someone’s coming down the hallway.”

Rygan POV

I was never one for large gatherings. My sisters adored them, being the kind of people who could talk and talk for hours. 

Me? Not so much.

Which was how I found myself dressed in a nice suit, my curly hair washed and tamed as much as possible, and standing at the back of the golden Great Hall while the rest of my family danced.

I didn’t mind being in the back while they had fun. It was more comfortable for me, anyway. I was content to eat good food, listen to the music, and enjoy the night by myself. 

I was busying myself by the food tables, sampling everything the cooks had made. Tonight the castle and the Great Hall were open to everyone in Orynth, including the servants. 

I took another chocolate filled pastry puff to snack on as I wandered, the cream inside of it melting in my mouth. 

I let myself get swept up in the crowd, humming along to the music while other people danced.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tell-tale dark head of hair, neatly groomed and slicked back, that belonged to Sabron Lochan. The male was heading towards me, a glass of some mysterious drink clutched in one hand.

“I thought you’d probably be here.” Sabron chuckled, resting his free arm on my head, purposely trying to annoy me.

I shook him off and rolled my eyes. “I don’t like balls.”

Sabron’s grin turned feral. “Oh, I thought you did. I thought you were fond of balls.”

“No-” I suddenly realized what he meant. My eyes widened, and I could feel as the blood all rushed my face. “You are a terrible person, you know that, right?”

His laugh was more like a howl as he bent double, nearly spilling his drink all over his expensive suit. “Oh man, you walked right into that!”

“You’re a terrible, awful human being.” I repeated. 

I glared at Sabron, even as I let him lead me over to the food tables again. The musicians began the next song, another jaunty tune to get the people dancing. 

I couldn’t help the glance I gave to the dance floor. Or the way my eyes were instantly drawn to a tall, silver-haired male as he twirled his little sisters around. 

It’s only because he’s so tall. And his hair is so bright. It has nothing to do with anything at all.

I turned away, determined to ignore my heart which had absolutely no business beating as fast as it did. Sabron offered me a drink and I took it, not even asking what it was before I took a large gulp. 

Sabron began to talk, chattering my ear off in his usual fashion, but I couldn’t pay attention. Instead my eyes were glued on Sam, and that crooked little smile he always had, dancing with his family. 

“Rygan. Rygan. Hellooo, Rygan?” Sabron tapped me on the shoulder and I flinched, my drink spilling a bit over the edge of the glass as I did so. 

“You are so out of it tonight. Are you drunk?”

I passed him the drink back. “No. That’s the first alcohol I’ve had all night.”

Sabron finished my drink for me, knocking it back quickly. When he looked at me again, his eyes were serious. “What’s on your mind? You’re supposed to be having fun tonight.”

“It’s nothing. I am having fun.” I protested.

“No, you’re clearly preoccupied. Is it a patient back at home?”

It would have been so easy to just say yes to that. Working in the Northern Torre, I always had patients who were bothering me, occupying my mind. But right now, that just wasn’t it, and I couldn’t bring myself to lie to one of my best friends.

I shrugged and shook my head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Sabron leaned over my shoulder, watching me as I avoided his gaze and tried to look at anyone else. Big mistake.

When my eyes landed on Sam, now hanging on the side of the dance floor by himself, my heart skipped a beat. And Sabron, observant, people-watcher Sabron Lochan, noticed instantly.

“It’s Sam, isn’t it.” Not a question.

“Yeah.” I admitted.

Sabron just sighed. “I knew it. And both of you are too chicken to make the first move.”

“He probably only sees me as a friend.” I said defensively. “We’ve hardly seen each other since this time last year.”

“He’s always talking about you, you know.” Sabron murmured into my ear. “When you were gone, somehow he’d loop every conversation back to you. ‘Oh, Rygan would know what to do’. ‘Rygan would love this book’. ‘I wish Rygan was here’.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not!” He insisted. “He may not know it, but he is totally into you.”

Sabron nudged me forward, towards where Sam stood alone, looking suddenly very, very lost. 

“Rygan, what’s the worst he can say?”

“I am not going to admit anything!” I hissed. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“You won’t. Come on, be brave.”

Sabron keep pushing me, until I was sure we were in Sam’s line of vision and I pulled myself away to walk on my own. 

Sam peered up at us, blinking rapidly. “Oh. It’s you two.”

“Who else would it be?” Sabron snorted. 

“If the nosy old lords can’t find Lyria then they ambush me.” Sam said, rolling his eyes. “And seeing as my sister has disappeared, it seems I would be a target now.”

“Where did Lyria go?” I questioned. Sam made a gagging noise.

“She snuck off with Folas a little while ago. I did not follow.”

Sabron’s shit-eating grin grew. “I should go interrupt them.”

“You’ll want to burn your eyes out afterwards.” Sam warned. 

“Please don’t burn your eyes out.” I sighed. “Eyes are so hard to fix, you know that, right?”

Sabron stuck his tongue out. “Know-it-all.”

Both Sam and I smacked his shoulder, and Sabron groaned a complaint. 

“Fine. I’ll go get more food or something. Maybe I’ll see if Asceline wants to dance.”

“She’d rather turn into a wolf and bite your face off!” Sam called after him, smiling in such a way I could see the pointed tips of his canines.

My heart skipped another beat. With Sabron gone, he’d just left me with Sam. I wasn’t sure I could properly trust my mouth to make words anymore. 

Thankfully, I didn’t have to. The candlelight dimmed even further, and the music stopped.

The entire room was silent, in bated anticipation. Slowly, the musicians began to play, softly. A young woman, red hair artfully done up, stepped forward.

And began to sing.

The emerald trees dance and the rivers run free,

The mighty stag follows, watching over me

I knew the song- the Ballad of Terrasen. The music was slow and gentle, as the woman’s lilting voice filled the Great Hall.

And on the floor, the King and Queen began a slow dance.

Somewhere, over the mountains,

There’s a place I called my own

Lysandra and Aedion joined them, a tender dance between them. And then Elide and Lorcan walked onto the floor as well. Then Evangeline and Hazel, the two women only having eyes for each other. 

The floor filled up as the song continued. Sam and I stood together in raptured silence, watching the woman sing.

No sight can contend with the steadfast oak tree,

That welcomes me home to the land of the free

And suddenly he was looking at me. The gold of his irises was reflecting the soft candlelight, his silver hair seeming to glow in the moonlight shining through the large windows. All the breath left my body at once.

Sam’s gaze was unreadable as he looked at me, with my whole body tense and blushing. And when the next words came, I thought I might faint.

“Do you want to dance with me?”

Somewhere, over the mountains,

There’s a land I once called home

“Sure.” I squeaked. 

Sam held out a hand, and I took it, trying to remember how to breathe. His hand was soft, with the barest hints of callouses on his fingertips. We walked out onto the edge of the floor, and then he took my other hand. 

But hear me my sisters, listen oh brothers,

One day we’ll find our way back to each other

His hand moved to my side, resting just above my hip. I put my hand on his shoulder, and our free hands stayed clasped together. 

Sam took the first step, sweeping us into the crowd. He was sure of himself, every movement made with precision. And yet, his eyes never left mine.

My own feet were clumsy, unpracticed. I stepped on his toes more than once, but he didn’t complain at all.

I promise I’ll find a way back to each other

The music began to swell, and the room seemed to swirl around me as we danced further and further into the crowd. 

I wasn’t sure when I had last taken a breath. Was I even breathing? I felt light headed.

“Calm down. Nobody’s watching.” Sam whispered in my ear, voice low and husky. Of course, he thought I was worried about the people.

No, I was more concerned with not melting into a puddle just from hearing his voice. 

Somewhere, over the mountains,

There’s a place I called my own

That smile. That smile. It was going to be the end of me. The little grin he made, his cheeks crinkling up, the barest hint of pointed Fae canines.

Sam twirled us across the floor, each step perfectly in time with the music. We moved through the other dancers effortlessly, with his hands holding me steady.

Somewhere, over the mountains,

There’s a land I once called home

The music was reaching its peak, and for the entire song, Sam’s eyes never once left mine. His hand, fingers entwined with mine. His body, pressed against me, leading me through the dance. 

I took a deep breath.

There’s a land I once called home.

“Sam.” His name slipped out, a soft breath.

There’s a land I once called home

We stopped, then. Right in the middle of the floor.

There’s a land I once called home

As if we were the only two people in this hall. Just two people, dancing.

There’s a land I once called home

The music faded out, as gently as it had started. The clapping began, but I didn’t hear it over the roaring of blood in my ears.

Sam’s hands were still on mine, clutching me tightly. When he leaned over me, silver hair falling in his face, every single part of me felt as though it was one fire.

His hand moved from my side to cup my face.

Sam Galathynius was touching me.

His eyes flickered down to my lips, a silent question. Almost a plea.

He was so close I could feel his breath on my lips, so close his chest was pressed against mine so I could feel the frantic beating of his own heart, echoing mine.

Sam tilted my chin up, and his beautiful eyes locked on mine again. I closed my eyes, leaned in to him. 

His nose touched mine for a split second, the scent of his skin all I could smell. I could almost imagine what it would feel like, to press my lips against his. 

He’s going to kiss me he’s going to kiss me he’s going to kiss me-

And then the world exploded.

Sam POV

Everything was a blur around me. One moment I was barely an inch away from Rygan’s face, every part of me screaming out to just do it, just kiss him! 

And the next moment the ground seemed to fall from beneath me, and Rygan and I tumbled to the floor in a heap.

The whole castle seemed to rumble, the shaking of the earth so strong I couldn’t stand. Terrified screams came from every part of the room, but I was so stunned I couldn’t even move.

A loud crack came from somewhere up high, and the scent of fear became overwhelming. People were shouting, screaming, praying.

What was going on?

A cloud of dust exploded from somewhere above us, and I buried my nose in my arm, trying in vain not to cough. I couldn’t see anything, even with my enhanced Fae eyesight. All I could do was listen as the screams kept on coming. 

I heard a soft groan beside me, and I turned, reaching for Rygan. If I couldn’t see through the dust, there was no way he could. I pulled him up beside me, and tried my best to stand up while the whole world seemed to be spinning.

“Sam,” Rygan choked out, mouth close to my ear, “We have to find the others. They might be hurt.”

“I know. Let’s go.” I took a wobbly step forward, and Rygan linked his arm with mine so we could steady each other. I couldn’t tell through the dust and the gloom what damage might have been done. All the candles had gone out. 

That didn’t bode well the state of my family. Where was my mother’s fire, Lyria’s too? Evalin and the twins could wield fire, though not well. Aspen didn’t have any fire at all, just like our father. 

My thoughts traced back to my older sister. She was gone, off with Folas. Where was she?!

“Sam, we have to go.” Rygan urged me. 

“Right.” I managed to focus my erratic thoughts enough to summon a ball of fire into my palm, though the flame was weak, sputtering. 

We stumbled through the dust together, as the frantic screaming died down. Now, people were calling out, shouting for their family and friends, for their loved ones. 

“Sam!” I heard the desperate scream of my mother, and I lurched for it, the fire flickering out. Rygan held tight to my hand, and I could make out just his blurry outline through the dust, face tucked into his collar so he could breathe. 

“Sam!” My father’s roar sounded seconds after, closer this time.

“I’m here!” I managed to call back, before hacking loudly as a cloud of dust flew into my mouth. Rygan flung his arm around my shoulder, having to reach with our height difference, and kept me upright and moving forward. 

Moments later I ran headfirst into strong, muscled arms. My father pulled me in, grabbing onto Rygan as well. I heard the distinct sigh of relief, followed by another round of coughing.

“Aelin, I”ve got Sam. And-” He scented the air. “I also have Rygan.”

I bumped into a small form, one that clung to my legs as I moved forward. Aerith, followed a moment later by Thallan.

“Do you know where Lyria is?” My mother asked, pulling me into an embrace. A furry tail brushed against my side, evidence that Fleetfoot had been woken up and taken to safety.

“I don’t know.” I admitted. “She and Folas left after their dance.”

Rygan still held my hand, as if he was reluctant to let me go. I squeezed it back once, twice. 

I’m still here.

“We need to find everyone.” Aelin said. “Take a headcount.”

“I can try to clear the dust, Mama.” Aspen offered. Hardly a moment later, a strong wind flew through the room, sweeping the clouding dust up and away. I added my own powers, and we were both joined by our father.

But clearing away all the dust gave us a full view of what damage had been wrought upon the castle. A large fissure split down the Great Hall, as well as above it. Several windows were shattered, and only a few supporting beams still stood.

This hall could come crashing down upon us at any minute. 

Shards of glass were spread around, food and drinks spilled all over the floor. Some of the tables were overturned, and one was broken. The only light anymore was that of the moon, and the little fire my mother was providing. 

All around, people were huddled together in groups. I could spot the figures of the Lochan family, huddled around Marion, who was for once silent. The little girl’s eyes were wide with terror, and even from a distance I could see the white of her knuckles from gripping her father’s hand. 

“Everyone, please stay calm!” My mother shouted, doing her best to be heard throughout the hall. She turned addressing everyone. “Please, we need everyone to stay still so we can make sure everyone is here.”

Slowly the noise died down, shouting and screaming fading to whispers. Everyone counted their family, their friends. 

Rygan and I still held hands. If I let go I thought I might faint. The rest of him was shaking, but his hands remained firm. I watched those golden brown eyes scan around the room, looking for injuries. For people he could help.

Everything felt fuzzy and off centered, like the whole world was unbalanced. I turned to ask Rygan what he thought, when a sudden movement caught my eye.

“Sabron!” Marion screeched, jumping out of the way as her older brother lurched forward, vomiting violently. He landed on his hands and knees as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the gilded floor.

“Rygan, no!” He ripped his hand from mine and sprinted across the hall, running towards Sabron while his parents dropped to the floor beside him.

Shards of glass sprayed with each step he took, and I scented the moment one drew blood. But Rygan didn’t stop for even a moment until he reached Sabron, and bent down right next to him, even as the gagging continued.

“I’m going to go search for Lyria and Folas.” My father stated brusquely. “You all should stay here and help.”

“No, I’m going with you.” I protested. “Two sets of eyes.”

Rowan didn’t bother to argue with me. Instead he shifted, the flash of light nearly blinding in the dim light of the moon. I shifted myself, letting myself get swept away in my hawk form. 

Together, we flew to the top of the hall, and then went in opposite directions. I took the hall to the gardens, and my father flew down the hallway that led back into the castle. 

I summoned the winds for me to soar on, to soar through the hallway and the castle, my sharp eyes missing nothing.

Nothing. There was nothing in this hallway.

The scent of dust permeated the air, and I could smell nothing else. There was no sign of Lyria, of Folas. 

I flew through the opened doors and into the palace gardens. The wood of the doors was cracked, and the stone wall of the garden was crumbling before my eyes.

It was then that I noticed the tree. A large oak tree had been the center of the garden, surrounded by a bed of kingsflame flowers that had bloomed almost overnight, years ago.

The tree had fallen completely over. The top of the branches had crashed through the stone wall, and the kingsflame flowers were completely crushed. 

I hadn’t even noticed that I had shifted back until I felt the soil under my feet and the bark of the tree beneath my palms. Tears dripped down my cheeks as I took in the sight. The mighty oak tree, fallen.

I knew, deep down in my heart, that this tree couldn’t be fixed. Not even with the most powerful Fae in the land. The exposed rings inside the tree were too numerous to count. The tree had been standing for centuries.

I took a deep breath to steady myself. I could cry over the tree later. Lyria and Folas were still missing, and with the destruction wrought in the garden, I could hardly see a thing.

But I began to search regardless.

“Lyria! Folas! Can you hear me?”

“Sam!” I could have sobbed with relief when I heard the sound of Folas’s voice, steady and strong, calling to me from the back of the garden.

I flew over, clearing the fallen parts of bushes and smaller trees with ease as I located my sister and friend. They were alive, they were safe.

However, the sight that greeted me when I landed was anything but safe.

Lyria was hunched over, golden hair ripped from the style she’d had it in. On her hands and knees, silky green dress ripped, vomiting. Just like Sabron had been doing.

Folas was curled around her, holding back her hair. The scent of his fear was nearly tangible.

Lyria gagged, rocking back onto her knees so she could wrap her arms around her stomach. Spit dribbled down her chin, as well as tears.

I had never seen my older sister so sick. So feeble, and shaky, and hurting. Nothing was right.

“We were out in the gardens when the shaking started.” Folas explained, eyes wide and terrified. “We were going to try and get inside, but she just… stopped. She hasn’t moved since.”

“Something is wrong with me.” Lyria moaned, then leaned forward as she gagged again. “There’s a tugging in my stomach.”

“Lyria, we’re going to get you inside. There’s healers inside who can help you.” I assured her. 

I motioned to Folas, and we each grabbed her under an armpit and pulled her upright. The bodice of her dress sagged, and it was then I noticed it was unzipped, the sleeves no longer on her shoulders.

Carefully, I eased one of her arms back inside the sleeve, to at least hold the dress up while we got her inside. Lyria lurched, and I held her as she leaned forward to vomit. 

Only bile came up. 

Carefully, we helped maneuver her around the garden, back towards the castle doors. All of our clothes got snagged and ripped on thorns and broken branches as we moved, but none of us cared anymore. 

I held a ball of fire in one hand to light the way. Even the stars seemed to shine differently now. Lyria groaned as we moved her, green eyes rolling back into her head. 

Every noise she made spiked my nerves again and again. This was Lyria, my older sister, the strong, smart, witty, perfect one. And yet, here she was, hardly able to hold herself up, vomit staining the front of her dress. 

Wrong wrong wrong 

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as we reached the doors. Folas heaved one further open so we could all fit through, and then it was just the home stretch back to the Great Hall.

Folas was lagging, I could tell. He was exhausted, sweat coating his face in a sheen. When I turned to look at him, I saw the belt of his pants loose, the buckle undone.

Well, that was why they had snuck away in the first place. 

When we neared the Great Hall, Aspen found us, and his face went pale at the sight of Lyria nearly limp in our arms. She had stopped vomiting, instead seeming on the verge of passing out. 

“Mom!” Aspen yelled, and our mother was beside us in a moment.

“What happened to her?” She demanded, pulling her daughter into her arms. “My darling, are you alright?”

Lyria let out a low moan of pain, but didn’t speak. We all followed into the hall, where Aelin set her down near the wall, where the Lochans were still caring for Sabron. 

“What happened to Sabron?” Folas asked, voice a near whimper as he approached his younger brother. Elide pulled him down into a fierce hug, sobbing into his shoulder.

“Folas, we were so worried!”

I sensed a presence behind me, and I didn’t have to look to know it was Rygan. I held out a hand, and he took it, squeezing it tightly.

“Only Lyria and Sabron are sick. And we don’t know why. My mother and sisters didn’t sense anything wrong when they examined Sabron. There’s no reason he should be sick. They didn’t even find signs of shock.”

I turned to look at him. Dust was caked in his curly hair and smeared on his brown skin, and his eyes portrayed his clear exhaustion. But still he stood tall, and his hands were steady. I wasn’t sure if I could say the same. 

“Lyria said she felt like something was tugging in her stomach. One moment she was fine and then the next she wasn’t.”

“Okay.” Rygan breathed. “I’ll let Amelie know. Maybe she’ll find something in Lyria and we can help her.”

All I wanted was to lay down and sleep. The adrenaline that had fueled me earlier had abandoned me completely, leaving me exhausted. 

But I knew I couldn’t rest, not yet. My sister was sick, my best friend was passed out on the ground, the castle, my home, was in shambles. 

I didn’t know what to do. When Rygan finally let go of my hand, off to help someone with cuts and scrapes, I still stood there, motionless.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, I took a step. And another. And another. Until I was walking, stumbling towards where Lyria lay on the ground, hand clutching her stomach.

I sat down with her, beside my mother as she stroked her golden hair. I picked up her hand, rubbing the back of it gently with my fingers. 

Slowly, her breathing eased. Her muscles relaxed, her hand rested on her stomach rather than holding it. 

And there I sat, holding my sister’s hand while the world seemed to crumble around us. 

[lostinthewiind]

Morning Coffee

Carwood Lipton - Band of Brothers 

Synopsis: Carwood Lipton wasn’t ever supposed to be anything more than the man who visited you in the early hours of the morning while you prepared breakfast for the troops, but sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry. 

Tag List: @gottapenny @warmommy @croatianbagudna @scissorsfordoc @wexhappyxfew @curraheev @mayhem24-7forever @one-who-hunts-eagles @bandofmarvels @i-am-a-lost-girl16 @wildwilliamgaurnere @majwinters @theonetryingtolive @higgles123 @those-dusty-jump-wings

 Standing over the old, rusted kitchen sink, you maneuvered the potato in your left hand while using your right to operate the sub-par peeler. Your grip was tight on the beige vegetable, but not too tight so that it would slip out of your grasp like a bar of soap. After countless mornings of peeling potatoes at 5am before even the sun had fully woken up, you were used to starting your day with the mindless activity. 

In the corner of the room, a radio played quietly, providing you something to occupy your mind with. For the first half hour of your shift, the only sounds echoing through the small kitchen would be the characteristic noises of breakfast being prepared for the many troopers of Camp Toccoa and the radio playing in the background. 

But then, around 5:30am, just like always, the door creaked open and a small smile played at the corners of your mouth. Not looking up from your task, you listened as the newly arrived person made their way over to you and leaned against the counter.

“Good morning.” Carwood Lipton’s voice was just as cheery as ever as if waking up so early never had an effect on him in the slightest; and if it did, he never showed it. 

Dropping the final potato into the bowl, you grabbed a towel to wipe your hands and finally looked up at your daily visitor. “Good morning, Carwood.” you returned the greeting with a small smile, wishing you could seem as care-free and awake as him. “How are you today?”

“I’m doing well, but I’ll be better once I get a cup of coffee in me.”

Nodding your head to the adjacent counter, you chuckled. “There’s a fresh brew in the pot,” you told him. “Like always, help yourself.”

“You’re the best.” Lipton patted your arm before grabbing a mug from the cupboard and pouring himself the first cup of coffee for the day. “How are you this morning?”

“I’m well, thank you for asking.” you pulled out a cutting board so you could chop up the freshly peeled vegetables. “Same old, same old, you know? Lots of hungry boys to feed.”

“Well, those hungry boys certainly do appreciate your cooking.” Lipton took a sip of his coffee while he watched you chop the potatoes with such speed and accuracy, wielding the knife like a true professional. “Before you, the food here was pretty inedible.”

A small laugh escaped your lips, but other than that, you remained silent, your focus completely on your work. You appreciated Lipton’s company in the morning more than anything, but you still had to keep on track or else the food wouldn’t be ready in time for the paratroopers; and even though those men were usually incredibly kind to you, they definitely got a little cranky if there wasn’t hot food waiting for them after waking up. 

After the final potato had been cut up and you had placed the trays of seasoned hashbrowns into the oven, you turned back to Lipton just as he was helping himself to another cup of coffee. As soon as he looked back up at you, a soft smile on his face, you felt a warmth spread over you. 

The first time Lipton had stumbled into your kitchen in search of a decent cup of coffee had been quite the first impression, and although the unexpected visitor had caught you off guard, you also didn’t mind the company. So, Lipton came back a few mornings later, which turned into him visiting you a couple times a week, and then eventually, every single morning. 

“Y/N, I have to tell you something.” his voice pulled you from your thoughts. 

“Hmmm?” you shook your head slightly before wiping your hands on your apron once more. “Yes, what is it?”

“Well…” he sighed, taking a final sip of the warm liquid in his cup before setting the mug down on the counter. “I’m…we — the guys, all of us — we’re shipping out tomorrow.”

Your eyebrows shot up and your hands grabbed hold of fistfuls of your off-white apron. “Oh?” was all you could manage to say at first, but when he remained silent, you decided to add some more words to your response. “That’s very last minute. Do they always tell you important things so suddenly?”

Lipton shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “That’s the thing.” his hand reached up to scratch the back of his neck nervously. “I’ve actually known for a week or so now.”

You weren’t sure if you were more sad or angry at the fact that your — for lack of a better label — ‘best friend’, had waited until the very last minute to tell you that he was leaving on a trip that he could very likely never return from. “Did you think leaving it until now would make it more dramatic?” you asked, trying to hide the hurt in your tone. 

“I tried to tell you sooner, I did, I promise.” he took a step toward you, and then another. “But every time I tried, I just couldn’t do it. This half hour I spend with you…it’s the best half hour of my day. I figured that if I didn’t say it out loud, maybe it wouldn’t be real.”

Your head dropped down and you began to study your shoes more carefully than you ever had before. “That’s stupid,” you muttered. 

“It is stupid.” he agreed. “And now I’m really regretting not telling you sooner, because that look on your face right now is killing me, and I don’t want you being sad the last time I get to see you.”

Forcing yourself to look up at the man who was now standing directly in front of you, you furrowed your brows at him. “Well, whose fault is that?” 

“Mine,” he admitted.

“Yes, your fault.” you jabbed your finger gently into his chest. For a few seconds, the two of you just stood there, but then you realized that there was so much more you wanted to say to him before he left for what might be forever. “Where are you going?”

He only shrugged. “No idea.”

“Oh, exciting.” you wiggled your eyebrows, trying your best to push away the sadness and enjoy the last few minutes you had together. 

“I’d much rather it just be another normal day…another day where I come visit you and enjoy a cup of your amazing coffee.”

You chuckled and lowered your finger from his chest, but as you did, he caught your hand with his own. You swallowed hard as your eyes locked onto your hand in his. “You know I just put the coffee and the water in the machine and press a button, right?”

“Well, then you’re the best damn button-presser I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you.” you didn’t know what else to say. 

“But I don’t just come in here for the coffee.” he placed his free hand under your chin and tipped your head up so you were looking back at him. “You know that, right?”

You rolled your eyes playfully and couldn’t help the smile that took over your mouth. “I just thought I was the ‘best damn button-presser’ ever.”

“You are,” he assured you, a smile on his own face as well. “But you’re also the best damn conversationalist as well…best damn person in this whole camp…best damn person I’ve ever met.”

“Are you just saying these things because you’re leaving tomorrow and there are no consequences to your words?” you inquired as you intertwined your fingers with his.

“No.” he answered. “In fact, I wanted to ask…would it be okay if I wrote to you while I was gone?”

Your eyes widened. “Write to me? Like…letters?”

“Yes.” he chuckled. “Last time I checked, that was what ‘writing’ meant.”

Hearing the door open again, which signified the arrival of the other cooks, Lipton stepped back from you, his fingers still wrapped around yours. Slowly, you let your hand fall from his, knowing full well it might be the last time you ever saw him or heard his voice or touched him.

“Yes.” you nodded quickly, your voice hushed as the kitchen began to spring to life. “I would like that.”

“Good.” he began to back towards the door. Before he left, however, he turned back to you one last time. “Oh, and please write back.”

[joan-of-stars]

Dark with 11 and depressed reader?

11. “Oh my god, you’re bleeding.”

so… not sure where you wanted this to go, but i’m using it as stress relief. and don’t read into that too much. i’m fine.

TW: major depressive thoughts and self harm. seriously. i probably shouldn’t have written this the way i did. it’s pretty bad. take caution. 

–

Too much.

Everything was too much.

Your skin was itching, and you just couldn’t satisfy it. The last few weeks had been bad, and the worst part was you couldn’t figure out why. You were getting better and things were looking up. And then one day you came home with a pit in your chest, body aching and lethargic. You couldn’t sleep, even though you were tired. You felt isolated, even when you were surrounded by friends. The rest of the week followed suit, and then Dark left. He was gone for some sort of business function. You couldn’t remember. You’d felt alone when he was lying with you. Now you were desolate.

You wanted to say “You can’t leave now, Dark, or I might fall apart at the seams”, but you couldn’t bring yourself to. He was busy.

So you ended up spending the weekend in bed, barely sleeping, barely eating, and itching.

You knew what the problem was, but, like most of your mental issues, you pushed it down and ignored it. Tried to, anyway.

By the next week, Dark was still gone, and you were feeling worse and worse. Your frustration turned sharply inward in the time you were alone in the house, and you were angry. At your brain, for fucking you up again when you thought things were getting better, but also at yourself for being a screw up in general, and all the while, your mind dipped into hopelessness, convincing you that no matter who you convinced yourself you were, nothing was going to fix you.

One morning you woke up from a nightmare and curled in on yourself. Your bedroom was rank, since you’d been in here without a shower for… longer than should be admitted, and you were in a cold sweat.

You rolled over and grabbed your phone from the nightstand, swiping away all of your other notifications so you didn’t have to think about it, and texted Dark. You hated bothering him, but there wasn’t any other option. Yet.

are you busy?

He didn’t answer. Made sense. It was six in the morning. He was either asleep, or doing something, so you shut your eyes, and drifted for a few minutes.

It wasn’t much longer before you woke up, and not having a reply, texted him again.

Can I call you?

…

Please?

You stared at your phone for a bit, but he wasn’t going to answer.

Tears cried out, and nothing else to turn to, you forced yourself to your feet, blacking out momentarily, and shuffled to the bathroom.

You never told anyone about your razors. It wasn’t exactly dinner table conversation. Dark should know, and you were aware of this, but regardless of where you were at in your relationship, you were still somewhat… intimidated by him. lt was obvious that he was way out of your league, and you were always half convinced he would drop you on a whim. All of this was just another reason for him not to want you. But you were so alone.

Dark wasn’t here right now.

You sat in the bathtub, and numbly, half dazed from just waking up, pulled your razor blades out of their little black box, and pressed one to your skin.

It had been so long that you’d been expecting to feel nervous, like you did the first time, but you weren’t scared. There was nothing keeping you from this new kind of low at this point.

And you didn’t hesitate.

The first cut was slow. The second was faster. Soon, you were leaving fresh scars over dozens of old, fading ones, not regretting a second of it. You were out of it, half there and half in the clouds, head filled with fog.

When it was over, the itch was satisfied. But after a moment of relief, you felt like shit all over again. Your chest was still hollow and aching, and now you were losing blood because of it.

Frustrated beyond words, you pulled your knees into your chest and started to sob, pathetic and gross.

And that was where Dark found you.

You heard the front door open, and you knew his footfall by now. Immediately, you panicked, and scrambled out of the tub to lock the bathroom door.

You were barely quick enough.

You slid down and sat against it, breath barely coming as you heard him tap the door in a knock.

“(Y/n)? Are you okay?” He said, just loud enough for you to hear through the door.

“I’ll be out in a second,” You threaded your fingers in your hair. Shit, shit, shit. Now what? He was going to find you. He would hate you. He’d leave, and you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself.

“Open the door, please, darling.” He said.

If you were panicky and refused, he would know something’s up.

“(Y/n).” More urgent this time.

You walked away from the bathroom door and dropped to the floor. You were overwhelmed, blood now everywhere, and at this point, you were just about ready to let this happen.

The door opened. You snapped your eyes shut and buried your face in your hands. You heard a hiss from Dark.

“Oh my god.” Dark whispered. You flinched. He knelt down in front of you and pulled your wrist away from your face. “You’re bleeding.” He said, making note of the obvious.

“I’m sorry,” Your voice broke on a sob. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have done it, I’ll stop, I promise, I just-”

“Shh, shh.” He hushed you, and you were surprised enough that you stopped, and opened your eyes. Dark was still staring down at your bloody arm, and the look on his face was indecipherable. One hand brushed across it like he was checking that it was real, and not some trick of the light. 

He kissed your mostly clean hand, and went to grab a washcloth from the cabinet. 

“I’m sorry.” You whispered again. You didn’t know what else to do.

Dark sat next to you, damp rag in hand, and pulled you into his arms so that you were sitting in his lap. 

“Dark-”

“Hush now.” He said, meeting your eyes for the first time. “Don’t apologize.” He began to ever so gently, as if he was afraid he might break you, wipe away the blood on your arm and trailing down your hand.

There was silence; a moment in which you almost fell apart. 

He broke it with a whisper. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”

You blinked. He didn’t sound angry. Why wasn’t he angry? He began to wrap gauze around your arm, and you winced. 

One Dark was satisfied with the bandages, he held you closer to his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He murmured. “That you were going to do this? Or that you were hurting so much?” 

Your vision was blurred by tears, and you were doing your best not to turn and sob into his chest. “I didn’t- I didn’t want you to see all of this. You’d- you’d hate me, Dark. If you knew me like this.”

“Don’t say that. I already know you.” He said.

“I feel so alone. I didn’t want to lose you too.” Dark brushed your tears away with his thumb before you could. 

“I’m here, (Y/n). I’m right here. We’re together. And I want you to tell me everything you can.” He ran his fingers through your matted, greasy hair.”

“But-”

“I won’t be angry. I won’t hurt you, or hate you, or leave. I promise.”

And so you did. You told him about the loneliness, the hopelessness, how it’d all happened so fast, and you were in too deep. You watched the guilt on his face as you told him about when he left, and how much worse everything got in such a short time.

And he didn’t leave. He held you, kissed you when you were crying too hard too talk, and at the end, he squeezed you tight.

“I’m here now.” He said. “Whatever you need to talk about, I’m here to listen. I’m not leaving you like this.”

Dark shifted you on his hip, and started to run a bath.

“Dark?” 

“Little things. I want you to feel like yourself again.” He said. He even dropped a bath bomb in, obscuring the water so you didn’t have to see what was under it. 

He washed your hair, and you dozed off in his arms as he massaged the soap through your scalp, and then you washed the sweat and tears off your face, and you felt refreshed, if not exhausted and drained. 

When you were done, and changed into clean clothes, he took you to the guest bedroom. It may have been nice to be in your bed, but these sheets were clean, and the room smelled of a rose and vanilla candle he’d lit. 

Dark kept you close, and for the first night in a while, you slept at ease. 

[singingcookie]

Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Inko, Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Anxiety, Domestic Fluff, Children of Characters, I’m Bad at Summaries

Summary:  It's been years since they graduated from UA, and Pro-Heroes Deku and Uravity have been hard at work striking the proper balance of their home and work life.

Work was finally done for the day—well, okay, it had been done for a while now. But Izuku could only consider it over once he had the car turned off and was about to collapse into the comfort of his own home. Even back before he and Ochako had decided to invest in the vehicle, he had thought of the trek through public transit as a part of work too. A necessity that came with any job, one might say.

However, despite putting the car in park and turning off the engine, he made no move to get out and instead simply unbuckled his seatbelt. Izuku tilted his head back against the seat with closed eyes. He just needed one more moment—one extra instance of calm before walking in to fetch the whirlwind that somehow managed to make fighting villains seem as easy as breathing. He only let himself remain that way for a handful of seconds, just long enough to take in a large breath that he promptly exhaled as he opened the door.

He gazed up at the collection of apartment buildings as he nudged the door shut. It had been a little bit of time since he had returned to his mom’s apartment—nothing outrageous, just a couple of weeks. Ochako had been in with more frequency, if only because it was on the way back from her own agency. It just made more sense; and Inko was more than happy to have his wife linger for longer than necessary during the visits. She needed to be off her feet after all. In contrast to that, Izuku had a feeling that he would be shooed off with a relative quickness today.

It seemed that since his last visit, the trees had finally realized that winter was fast approaching; the leaves no longer the vibrant green, but varied among warmer tones to match what he had become accustomed to seeing in his own yard. The chill had yet to set in, however; and he hoped it would have the mercy to remain that way for at least the next month, with all things considered.

He still had the key to this apartment buried somewhere among the ring of them in his pocket. Even so, when he managed to step onto the mat placed at its entrance, Izuku only raised a finger to the buzzer. After giving it a quick tap, he looked back over his shoulder to take in what he could see of the horizon. Hopefully the drive wouldn’t be too long; if Ochako was just as determined for them to clean the yard when he returned, then he would rather not get back after dark.

There was a creak of the door after a minute or so; he canted his head back to greet his mother with a smile and found her blinking at him in surprise. “Izuku? You’re early.” She took a step to the side, waving an arm to usher him inside. “I thought you weren’t supposed to come until—”

“Ah,” he went ahead and started to slip off his shoes as he informed her, “I managed to finish up early.” She repeated the sentiment with a tone that said she knew him better than that. She was right. “Well, I may have told them that there was some trouble here that I needed to get to.”

“Izuku…”

“I wanted us to get home before dark!” He paced further into the apartment, his head swiveling from side to side as he searched for the reason for the visit. “Besides, it was just paperwork. I can go in early tomorrow and get it done.” Izuku frowned when he reached the living room to find the couch remarkably empty. “Mom, where is…?”

As he spoke, he looked back to find his mom had stopped at the door to her room, reaching for the handle with one hand while holding a finger to her lips with the other. He followed her lead as she guided him in. There was a tiny lump curled up in the middle of the bed, the mop of light brown curls the only thing visible above the blankets. “Juu-chan fell asleep while we were reading,” he heard his mom whisper as he passed by her to approach the head of the bed.

He sighed but bit back the urge to scold her for allowing the normally rambunctious child to pass out so close to his arrival. Instead, he sat down on the bed and took in the rare sight as his hand reached out to gently pass over the soft but tangled locks. After a moment of smiling down at the exhausted child, he wondered, “Anything happen today?”

It was sort of a pointless question. He was well aware of that. Because if anything had happened it would have been the first thing out of his mother’s mouth at his arrival. He couldn’t keep his grin from faltering though when she broke the expected news. There was an extended pause after she did, and it wasn’t due to keeping quiet for the dozing little girl. “Izuku,” Inko was doing her best to sound reassuring but he could hear the waver as she continued, “didn’t the doctor tell you...?”

“That it should be coming any day now,” he repeated the clinician’s words with a not-so-sly roll of the eyes. He kept his voice to a whisper as he agreed that he remembered that. That doesn’t make it any easier, he kept that thought to himself as he leaned over to bring himself closer to his daughter. “Juuko, we have to get going; so Dad’s gonna pick you up now, okay?”

She didn’t even stir at the words. Still, he pulled the blanket off of her before taking the child in his arms and returning to his feet. Izuku pressed her to his chest so her head was resting on his shoulder, choosing to disregard the wet spot it created when her cheek touched the material. “Thanks again for getting her from kindergarten today, Mom.”

“Of course. We don’t want Ochako-chan pushing herself any more than she needs to,” she said with a nod. It was true; that delightful woman had already kept herself working two weeks longer than she was supposed to. She had insisted that she was perfectly alright to go in and file paperwork for the agency. Ochako’s stubborn nature was something he found equal parts admirable and frustrating. “Make sure to tell her that I can come by anytime she needs me when you’re not home.”

A chuckle escaped him and he noted dryly, “I think she knows that without me telling her.” He looked down at the greying woman as she insisted that he should still pass along the message anyway, a favor to his dear aging mother if he needed a proper reason. “Okay, I’ll say something when we get back.” He leaned over to peck her on the cheek before straightening up again. “Where’re Juuko’s things?”

“Eh? They’re in the living room.” Inko began to point back out of the room and Izuku shuffled his daughter more to his left side so he would only be holding her with one arm. But his mother threw her hands to her cheeks and caused him to pause in the action. “Oh! Of course—what was I thinking—I should grab it and meet you at the front door. How silly of me!”

He was about to tell her it was fine, but she had already shuffled out of the room, muttering something about starting to lose her sense as she went. The corners of his lips drifted upward while a hum of a laugh rumbled from his chest. Honestly, he was a Pro-Hero now; it wasn’t as though carrying his daughter and picking up her bag would have been such a struggle for him anyways. He began to make his way to the apartment’s entryway when he heard a small mumble, “Daddy…?”

He tilted his chin down to press his lips to her forehead for a moment. “Hey, sleepyhead. It’s time to head home.”

She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck—well, as best as the tiny things could manage—and buried her face into the crook of it. “Not sleepy...” Her voice betrayed the truth, thicker than her curly hair, and the hard letters of the words as soft as her pink cheeks.

Izuku was slipping his shoes back on as his mother called out his name in a hushed tone of voice. “Here, let me put her shoes in so you don’t have to move her around too much…!”

She bumbled down the hall to join them, bending down to pick up the smallest pair of shoes. She placed them in the bag labelled with their last name and held it out, explaining that she had already cleaned her lunch box and placed it inside. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Bye, Juu-chan! We’ll see each other again soon, okay?”

“Bye, Gramma Inko,” she sighed the words out, her breath just as heavy as the moment before.

The Pro-Hero kept quiet as he took them back to the parking lot. Izuku set down the bag to open the back door before carefully placing her in the booster seat. “Did you have fun with Grandma today?” he wondered as he leaned over her to fasten the seatbelt.

“Mm-hm.”

He picked up her school bag and placed it in the seat beside his own as he got up front and started the car. “What’d you do?”

He checked his rearview mirror to make sure he was alright to back out of the spot, and noticed Juuko had yet to open her eyes. As if she could read her father’s mind, her balled hands reached up to rub at them. “Watched Auntie Tsu on tv.” Ah, they must have caught the villain that he had heard about as he had been leaving then. “Sang songs. Helped Gramma wash my lunch box...”

“Did you?” She hummed in agreement; but he was pretty sure that meant Inko had washed the container while Juuko played with the soap bubbles. When Izuku arrived at a stoplight, he glanced back at her again; those evergreen eyes were finally open and staring out the window. “Grandma told me you were reading something?” he said, pressing back on the gas once the light had changed.

“Guri and Gura.” He raised an eyebrow as mused that he thought she had read that one before. “Yeah. But it’s for when I hafta read to someone.” Oh, that was sweet. He wondered aloud if Inko had said she should practice. “No, was my idea.” He didn’t know it was possible for that to be cuter.

“So you’re excited then?”

“Mm-hm.” That was a relief. “Once they get here, Mommy’s tummy’ll be small again. Be easier to hug.” He forced his lips together even as they twitched in his mirth. Kids were something else. He didn’t know how they could range between tooth-rottingly sweet to hilarious in just a handful of seconds. But it was certainly a trait he couldn’t get enough of. And soon he would have two of them. An exciting but also terrifying prospect.

She kept talking about the downsides of Ochako’s swollen stomach; and he decided to simply nod along and let the child ramble on as she continued to wake up during the drive. He and Ochako had been concerned back when they had told her that there would be another baby in the house come November.

Juuko hadn’t said much at the time—an oddity in and of itself because she had something to say about everything—and she never brought it up unless her parents were already talking about it. So it was comforting to hear that she was practicing for when her status graduated from only child to big sister. Of her own choice, no less!

He interrupted Juuko’s ranting over the loss of being able sit in her mom’s lap these last few months, wondering, “So you wanna read to the baby when it comes?”

She hummed in agreement, and even without looking up, he knew she was flashing a grin that could shame even the brightest star. “I will! I’ll read lots so they’ll be smart like me!”

“You can’t fall asleep like you did today.”

He chanced a quick glance in the rearview mirror and was blessed with the sight of her rosy cheeks puffing out as she crossed her arms tightly in front of her. “Wasn’t asleep, Daddy!”

“I dunno, Juuko; sure seemed like it...”

“My eyes were closed,” the child declared with a bravado that could rival Kacchan in its intensity. “That’s all!” He decided not to argue the matter any further as he pulled into the driveway. He was putting the car in park as he heard his daughter cry out, “Mommy!” He pulled the key from the ignition as he heard Juuko unbuckle her seatbelt—fully awake and ready to fly out of the car—and he looked out his own window while he made to get out as well.

Ochako was in one of her maternity dresses with a heavy coat atop it, warm leggings, and her favorite pair of boots; she was holding the rake with her pinkies and thumbs raised to be doubly sure she wouldn’t activate her quirk while she continued to sweep the leaves into the pile she had started in the middle of the yard.

“Ochako,” he started after getting out of the car, “I thought you said you were going to wait until we came home.”

Izuku moved to release their monster from the back seat after shutting his own door as his wife called out their names in greeting. Anything else she said, however, was drowned out by Juuko crying out again as she raced across the lawn and slammed herself against her mother’s legs. “Juuko, be careful! We don’t want Mom falling over now!”

“Izuku, it’s fine. I’ve fought villains four times her size that didn't knock me over.” She pet the top of their daughter’s head, inquiring about her day with Grandma Inko as he made his way over to join them. Juuko began to recount the story, much more animated than she had been in the beginning of the car ride. She let go of her mother and took a step back, bouncing on her toes as she rambled on. “Sounds like a fun time!”

“Mm!” She raised her hands to her chest, curling them up into fists as she looked past the woman and wondered, “Mommy, Mommy! Can I jump in the leaves? Can I?”

Izuku just barely repressed a sigh as his wife giggled and agreed that of course she could. Juuko didn’t waste another moment and took off faster than a jet, yelling in unbridled joy as she went to partake in the task. “And you say I spoil her,” he mused as he joined his wife’s side. He leaned over and pecked a quick kiss to her lips, greeting her properly since their arrival.

“It’s better for her to do it now before the entire yard is done.” On the one hand, he saw her point; but on the other, it didn’t exactly disprove his thought. He reached out, placing one hand on the rake as he offered to finish the task for her. But Ochako’s grip remained and she tugged the rake a little further away, forcing them the slightest bit closer. Her eyes were narrowed in an impish manner, a smile playing at her lips. “Deku, your fellow Pro-Hero, Uravity is perfectly capable of raking leaves—pregnant or not.”

“I know that,” he insisted. “But you already raked up and Juuko’s going to make it a mess again. So I may as well—”

“You were working all day while I had to sit at home and do nothing,” she argued, that upward tilt of her lips faltering somewhat. Ochako really had an issue with agreeing to start her maternity leave. He knew a part of her was (for some reason or another) still upset over it. A portion of him had thought she was going to blow a fuse when she had heard that he turned in and filled out the paperwork in her stead. She might still hold a minor grudge against him for taking that action. “Let me have this.”

He let out a large breath but relinquished his hold on the handle and gave his resigned agreement. “By the way, Mom wanted me to make sure you knew that she’d come over whenever you need now that—”

“Now that I’m on house arrest until I pop?” One of her hands left the rake and came to rest on her stomach. Her words were bitter, but the look on her face was gentle as she gazed down at her expanded middle. “Maybe she can just stay here. At least then I’ll have someone to keep me occupied while you’re at work and Juuko is at kindergarten...”

“You can always invite our friends over,” he reminded her in kind as she began to resume her task. “You know, they’ll be more than willing to see you on their days off.” She nodded with a small hum of agreement.

Izuku glanced past the love of his life to see Juuko was kicking what was left of the pile of leaves, her hands raised as they descended in a colorfully vivid dance around her. He didn’t think his wife had noticed the gaze but she still asked a related question, “Did Inko say…?”

“Still nothing.”

It had been two months since their family had taken Juuko in for her check-up. Her fourth birthday had passed just a week prior to the visit, but her quirk had yet to manifest. The idea that she was quirkless was shot down by the doctor—she had the tell-tale bone structure, unlike when her father had his own doctor’s visit at that age. He insisted it was probably something as simple as possessing a more subtle quirk; or she was just a bit of a late bloomer.

Izuku watched his daughter for a moment longer; her entire being shimmering in pure joy as she threw some of the brown and orange leaves into the air with a bubbly laugh. “She’s going to be just fine, dear.” His eyebrows furrowed together in spite of the smile and he forced himself to look away as he heard his wife continue to reassure him. “I know you’re worried, but she would tell us if anything happened at school.”

Would she? It was hard for others to wrap their heads around; but he himself had been an energetic, happy kid before the bullying had started. And did he ever tell his mom about it at that age? No, she already felt terrible enough about the matter; he couldn’t bear to let her know he was being bullied over it too. It wouldn’t surprise him if his own daughter did the same.

The man’s thought process was interrupted when Ochako bumped the rake into his leg. “Stop your muttering.” He said that all out loud… “Juuko is Juuko,” she continued, looking down at the ground as she pulled the rake back to return to her work. “And you can’t just worry that she’ll do what you did.”

“I know…” He lifted his chin again; their daughter was still kicking at the leaves, her toes wiggling as she did—wait, toes? He huffed before raising his voice to reach her at such a distance, “Hey, where’re your shoes, little miss?”

She cringed before he had even finished the sentence, her exuberant motions jerking to a halt while her shoulders rose up. Juuko’s head slowly turned toward him to reveal an over-exposed lower lip jutting out paired with her green eyes as wide open as she could manage. “I dunno,” the words were hardly audible but he had expected that answer.

“C’mon, let’s put your shoes on,” Izuku said as he turned around to get the bag out of the back seat. He had only taken a few steps when he heard the sound of wood hitting the ground and Ochako called his name with a stutter. There was a second where he considered activating One for All, unsure of what to expect from the cry.

He chose to spin on his heel, ready for anything—quirk or no. But he had done the about-face only to find Juuko’s mouth in a wide smile, surrounded by a slow-moving swirl of colors. At first he could only stare on in befuddlement, the image in front of him not quite connecting to his brain. How were the leaves floating around her without continuing their fall to the ground? Was this…?

As if to make things all the clearer, the leaves and some broken twigs near her feet twitched to life as well, rising up to join in the dance. Every part of him relaxed and he was almost surprised that he didn’t collapse with how much his legs felt like pudding beneath him. His daughter raised her hands up, her fingers reaching delicately to touch one of the dozen or so leaves twirling in their orbit around her. “Daddy, the leaves want me to keep playing, see?”

His body was moving on its own as he approached her. The only thing Izuku actually had any semblance of control over was fighting not to release the tears that welled up his eyes. He had managed to get maybe two or three steps away when he couldn’t take it anymore. He sunk down, bending at the knees as he clasped his hands together and silently thanked everything out there that his worries were for naught.

“Daddy?” Green eyes looked up to find the child had closed their distance, her tiny fingers reaching out to touch one of his wet cheeks as the leaves resumed their natural descent back to the ground. “Why are you sad?”

He gave a slow shake of the head, his mouth opening as the corners of his lips turned up in a grin. “Juu-chan, I’m not sad...” Izuku wrapped his little girl in a bear hug before forcing himself to stand. Ochako had come over to stand beside them, her hand resting on his back and he tugged her into the embrace as well. “I’m so happy!”